The Weeping Willow
by Nina-Satine
Summary: "He was right you know." Hermione called out to Draco who turned to look at her, dark circles around his eyes, and looking as if he hadn't slept in days. "Who?" He asked, not sure he wanted to know the answer. "Dumbledore," she replied, "he once said it was far easier to forgive others for being wrong than being right. And I was completely wrong."
1. Chapter 1

_Dumbledore says people find it far easier to forgive others for being wrong than being right. _

_– Hermione Granger (Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince)_

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Hermione Granger spent most of her time helping the Wizarding World rebuild after she had found her parents in Australia and brought them home. And once Hogwarts reopened its doors and services, it was no surprise to anyone that she continued her studies and received top marks. After the completion of her 7th year she had taken a spot with the Ministry of Magic in the Department for the Regulations and Control of Magical Creatures.

Things felt normal to Hermione, which was a breath of fresh air, but also bittersweet. She had grown so accustomed to having adventures and fighting for her life, that at first she had thought it peaceful not to worry anymore. There had been days during the war that she had sworn to herself that once it was over she would never want to do anything dangerous again. But she found that, even though she was safe behind a desk, some days were found to be just as exhausting and stressful. The only difference was that many days were also boring.

She spoke to Harry several times a day, Ginny she spoke to at least once a day, and Ron; well, things with Ron were complicated. During the last three years they weren't sure what they were exactly to each other. They would go out and share kisses yet they had recently decided that they needed time to grow, and since the fall of Voldemort it seemed as though they had an abundance of it.

Once after a stressful day in the office, and another fight with Ron, Hermione found herself walking around muggle London. She walked through parks, crossed streets, saw families, and couples. She thought about her work, and her love life, or lack thereof. She was just about ready to find a spot to apparate to her small apartment, which she had started renting at the beginning of the year, and mope there, when she noticed a small bookshop at the corner of the street.

The shop had a large window with a silhouette of a Willow tree and a person sitting against the base of it with their head tilted down reading a book. Above the tree were the words **The Weeping Willow**, under the tree where many knotted roots making up the word **Bookshop**. The door had a round window with a few designs etched into the glass, while the wooden frame of door itself had vines and leaves carved into it.

For a bibliophile such as Hermione she could not pass up the opportunity to enter a bookstore. It was a cozy shop with a variety of books both new and old, and Hermione spent an hour or so looking through a few sections. She purchased one book before she left, and promised herself that she would return another day, a promise she would keep.

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A/N: I know a very short beginning. I struggled with how much I had wanted to post that this what I ended up deciding on.

**_Reasoning:_** This story was supposed to be a oneshot, focusing on the quote at the top. With that being said I had exactly what I wanted to happen in my head. Yet as I started to type the story out, all these other scenes started to weave their way in. Just like a certain character, whom I will go into more detail on in the next chapter which I will post sometime tomorrow.

Anyways getting back on track here, the summary was the first scene that I had in my mind which inspired this story. I was finally able to write that out a few days ago and I was going to everyone who would listen in my household how after adding so much that I finally got to that part.

I went off track again, once again going back to this being a failed oneshot. I was going to just post one slightly long story, no chapters, and so the passing had short parts, such as this, with breaks to show that a new scene was taking place. Well some scenes turned out longer than I expected, while others are maybe half this size. So I decided to make it a chapter base story, however some parts will be separated with a break that way you won't have to deal with a very small chapter.

I wanted to point out was the name of the story, it took a while when I had originally started this story, a little over a year ago, to come up with the name. Now let me tell you to the people that say we just throw stuff together and call it a story have no idea how much research some of us put into it, I had to look up meanings of things and really investigate, in the end The Willow tree was used and there you have it.

Lastly The bit about the boy leaning against the tree and it being a silhouette was inspired by my older brother. When we were very young to the point that I don't remember this happening, we would stay with my grand parents in their little house out in the country, and they had wall paper in their living room. Well my brother got in trouble for ripping at it and cutting it with scissors. It wasn't till I was about six or seven and he was nine or ten, my mother said:

"Remember when you cut Nana's wall paper?" In which my brother replied

"Oh, you mean my sleeping knight?" My mother's mouth dropped before she asked what he meant. "Yeah, he's sleeping against a tree see."

He had been five so I was a baby and had always thought that the wall paper was old and it had just happened to age looking kinda like a person. My brother went to the wall and started to point it out the head, chest armor, legs, and boot of the knight. The tree was the line where the wall paper was lined up against it's self, and there had been a few torn spots already, which reminded my brother of a "knight's boot" so he just helped make the knight more noticeable. After he explained the oddly shaped knight everyone was able to envision it, and my mother felt a little upset with herself for punishing him years back for tearing at the wall paper, just because. He also said that the knight was not complete but he had gotten in trouble before he could finish it. No he never got to finish it my mother wouldn't let him cut the wall paper, even though it doesn't matter anymore since they have since torn down that little eggshell blue house that was out in the country and added more vegetation. Not that I can complain we can never have enough oranges, or grapes in California ^.^ Anyway I hope you enjoyed my little childhood story.

This concludes this part, enjoy your readings and I will post more soon.


	2. Chapter 2

She found herself visiting the bookshop quite frequently, at least once a week. Some weeks she would visit nearly every day, and some weeks she would not visit at all. She found other routes from the Ministry to get to the shop, some ways were faster and some ways took longer. She found other book stores but she always went back to The Weeping Willow. She could never get enough of its charm, it was her place of comfort a place that she was sure no one else knew of, her small sanctuary.

"Where do you run off to?" Harry had asked her one day. She was getting ready to leave the Ministry and trying to be quick about it before someone stopped her. She had not been to the shop in two weeks and was itching to get there as soon as possible. Harry happened to be leaning against the doorframe of her office.

"Oh, Harry! I didn't see you there." She said and she quickly wrapped a scarf round her neck.

"Hermione, you would tell me wouldn't you?" Harry asked arms crossed looking down; she gave him a puzzled look and asked what he meant. "You would tell me if you had a secret wouldn't you, perhaps you're seeing someone, I won't tell Ron." He said looking back at her putting one hand up to stop her from protesting, while the other rested against his heart in complete sincerity.

"What would give you that idea Harry?" Hermione asked with her eyebrows knitted together.

"You're always running off around this time, I noticed it a few weeks ago." He said walking into her office, "I didn't think much of it but then I noticed a pattern, sometime you wouldn't leave your office, and other times you left early a few days in a row." Hermione couldn't help but let out a soft laugh. "I'm not mad if you think I am. I don't want you to think I would be upset that you're seeing someone other than Ron."

"Harry, I am not seeing anyone." She said looking at him.

"Oh." Harry uttered. "I just thought…" His voice trailed off.

"You thought wrong." Hermione said teasingly as she smiled at him. Harry rubbed the back of his neck.

"Then where do you go, if you don't mind me asking." He said head down with his eyes looking at her. Hermione let out a sigh; Harry was giving her _THAT_ look. The one where he looked like a lost child, like a puppy without a home, the one he used at Hogwarts when he would ask for her notes, or for help with a paper, the one she could never really say no to. He was giving her the look that would make her feel horrid and guilty if she didn't let him have his way.

"I go _out_ Harry." She said grabbing her bag and putting the strap onto her shoulder walking towards the door to her office, trying her hardest not to look at that face of his.

"But _out_ where to _Hermione_?" Harry asked stepping in front of her.

"Harry, please." Hermione said, a pleading tone lacing her voice, doing everything to keep her eyes off him.

"Is it that bad that you can't tell me?" Harry asked with hurt evident in his words. She couldn't help but look at him, that damn face of his! She had lost, her eyes never left his as her shoulders dropped. She let out a sigh and moved to sit on the edge of her desk.

"Alright," she said, "but you have to promise not to laugh at me."

"I swear!" Harry quickly replied face serious and full of concern, taking a step closer towards her.

"A while back, well a few months ago actually, I had a row with Ron; and I had a bad day in the office. Well, I went around muggle London and somewhere along my aimless walking I stumbled onto this treasure of a bookshop." She looked from her folded fingers to Harry who looked bewildered.

"You go," he paused for a brief moment, "to a bookshop?" He finished face twisted in confusion as though the sentence that just left his lips were the strangest string of words ever to leave his mouth. "Why couldn't you just tell me before Hermione?" He asked sounding rather frustrated, and relieved; she wasn't sure if he was frustrated about the fact that she had kept something so trivial from him, or because he was disappointed that it was not that big of a secret as he had intentionally thought it was. Something told her it was the latter.

"Because Harry, if I had told you about it you would have wanted to tag along."

"And why shouldn't I tag along?" Harry asked body starting to turn towards the door showing every indication that he would be joining her.

"Oh, no you don't Harry James Potter!" Hermione said standing up with her chin in the air.

"What?" Harry asked taking a step back with his hand out to his side and shoulders slightly lifted.

"Don't think I haven't a clue on what is going on in that head of yours, you will not be accompanying me to this store."

"Why not, I like books." Harry said defiantly.

"That maybe the case but if you join me you would want to go somewhere else afterwards."

"What are you going on about Hermione?" She let out a deep breath.

"Harry this place is where I go to get away I will not have you ruin it for me."

"I would do no such thing." Harry said with a scoff.

"Then tell me, if I were to tell you where this place is, or show you, would you promise me that you would not go there just to find me?" She asked. Harry stood silently, eyes cast onto the floor going over different scenarios in his head. "Harry, you and Ron have Quidditch, if you needed to let out pent up stress, or to vent, you take it to the pitch, you get on your broom and you fly about." Hermione said waving a hand in the air. "I enjoy reading and to be surrounded by books. This place, it feels like it is the only thing I have to myself. You understand don't you Harry?" He nodded his head as he looked at his feet, feeling guilty that he had tried to intrude in her new found sanctuary.

"I'm sorry Hermione." He said giving her a lopsided smile.

"It's alright Harry." She said taking one of his hands and squeezing it slightly. "I better be off." She said as she gave him a chaste kiss on his cheek. "And Harry, do not try and follow me. You have that gleam in your eye when you are planning on either being sneaky or doing something incredibly stupid, and I will not hesitate to hex you." With that she left the office leaving behind a deflated Harry.

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A/N: Going back on yesterday when I posted about certain characters... I had originally planned this story with only three Characters ever making an appearance.

1) Hermione

2) Darco

3) Ginny

As I started to write down the story there was always this one character that would slowly open the door and peak in his head; you see the messy hair, followed by his glasses and finally a small smile. Harry never demanded his appearance, he just made it very obvious that he would not be ignored, by placing himself in different parts of the story never making too much of a fuss but always in the line of view that you just had to add him in. Really he is smarted than he gets credit for, I think it may be a bit of Dumbledor's influence.


	3. Chapter 3

Draco Malfoy had just left the Ministry. Even if he and his family avoided imprisonment, the Ministry had wanted to be sure that he was, indeed, a changed man. So after a little over two and a half years of _"mandatory visits"_ he had gone to his last check in with the Ministry. His family kept mostly to themselves after the war, his father rarely left the mansion and his mother was rarely seen out and about, as she once had been.

He found himself walking about muggle London, he considered going to Diagon Alley but thought against it. He no longer felt very welcomed after the war. Even though the press claimed that the Malfoy's had a hand in saving the Infamous "Harry Bloody Potter", thus saving the Wizarding World, the damage was done and not many people looked at him or his family the same way. He knew how it felt to be looked down on; the Wizarding World now looked at him as he had once looked down on muggles.

Now here he was, in muggle London, wearing all black, on one of the cool days in autumn. No one really noticed him and for once, as odd as it felt to think it, he felt like he fit in. Malfoy's were meant to stand out, yet here his was mixing in with Londoners, muggle ones at that.

He found himself sitting on a park bench children running about in the distance, lovers taking romantic strolls. Sometimes he would see lovely looking woman who would glance over at him, a man in black with an air of mystery about him. He wondered how he could ever be disgusted with women who looked like they did. Then his mind reminded him of their blood, and he felt guilty and ashamed before he pushed all those thoughts away.

He continued to walk about, the more he watched them he noticed how different they were, everyone seemed to be in a rush to get somewhere there were lights on poles guiding traffic and strange signals that told him when he could walk or not, he mostly followed the crowds just to feel like he fit in somewhere. He wondered if they really did have magic, seeing moving pictures on windows high on top of buildings, or words passing on signs, not knowing how it could be done without the assistance of magic. There were several items that he did not know the names of, or what they did exactly.

After sometime he lost the initial interested and was just about ready to start having a panic attack from culture shock. He began to go down small streets to find a proper place to apparate home, when he saw a window that read The Weeping Willow Bookshop. It looked very similar to one of the stores back in Diagon Alley, it called to him. He hesitated for a moment, a Weeping Willow the symbol he associated to grief. He looked back to the street that he just came from and then turned back to the bookshop deciding to take comfort in a little shop than on going back to the chaotic streets, perhaps the willow was grieving for him; perhaps the willow was grieving with him. He walked to the vine carved door placed his hand on the knob and when he stepped in he felt warmth, as though the shop was welcoming him from the cold, he felt as though everything would be alright, as though things would begin to change for him, and change they would.

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A/N:

I realized that I spend most of my time going over and over the chapters, that I never bother to review these little notes. So excuse the errors and typos, I cringe when I look them after I post them. But I can worry about fixing every little thing or worry about the chapters that you want to read. I am pretty sure when I look back on this chapter I will find something else I will want to correct. Taylor Mali tends to make me feel better on this note with this passage from his poem

Miracle Worker-

"I write my assignment sheets and print them without spell checking them. Cause I'm a teacher, and teachers don't make spelling mistakes. Do we? So yes, as a matter of fact, the new dress cod will apply to all members of the 5th, 6th, and 78th grades; and if you need an extension on your essays examining The Pubic Wars from an hysterical perspective you may have only until January 331st. I hope that's not a problem for anybody."

I happen to teach students far younger than 5th, 6th, and 78th grades, but I do understand all the work that goes into it. You can also check him out on Youtube my personal favorite is What Teachers Makes.

Sorry for not posting sooner with the new school year up and students demanding attention, work never seems to get done. Speaking of which I took a break to post this luckily it is a 3 day weekend coming up and I hope to post more soon.


	4. Chapter 4

Hermione found herself in the comforts of the shelves; there were a few spots within the bookshop where one could sit and read. She found herself frequenting a few spots on more than one occasion. The few workers in the store knew her by name and hardly bothered her, she remembered having a conversation with one about how comfortable the store was, and the worker told her how surprised Hermione would be with how many people would sit themselves to look though a book and fall asleep, Hermione laughed mostly because she had found herself drifting off more than once. People would go in and out of the bookshop some lingered some left in hurries, but everyone tended to let each other be.

Hermione had walked in and the sweet old lady at the register give her a quick smile, before turning her attention to another customer, a smile which Hermione gladly returned. Hermione let out a sigh as she went to a corner of the store to look for a book that she had glanced at the last time she visited. She always found reasons to go to this bookshop; sometimes while looking through a book she had purchased they would mention something in which Hermione would then go back to the shop and purchase another book for. Once she had a book about pirates which mentioned the sea god Poseidon; and on her next visit she purchased a book on mythology.

This time Hermione wanted to get a book she had read before. While going through her inventory at her flat she noticed that there was a set of book that she did not own. She lingered in a few aisles before making her way to her destination spot. The Classic books were located along the back wall of the store, and she searched for the book she had wanted to get. There it was, on one of the top shelves, Persuasion by Jane Austen. She had bought Emma a couple weeks prior and the cashier told her that there was a collection book with all the stories combined into one big book, Hermione laughed and stated that she much preferred to have the books separate, she would hate to one day want to read a particular story only to have to go to the middle of a gigantic book to read it. Knowing her she would have to read all the stories before it till she got to the one she wanted to read. Then she would have to finish it all because she just would hate to stop reading right in the middle of an open book. No, Hermione would buy them all separately.

She stretched her arm out knowing she would be able to reach the book, however her fingertips barely grazed it and she only managed to push the book further back, she let out a frustrated sigh. The last time she had been in the store she had been in heels. She had had a meeting that particular day so getting a book from the top shelf had not been that much of a chore.

Determined she pushed herself onto her tip toes and stretched using one hand to support herself on one of the shelves, while the other pulled to try and reach the book, a very odd noise slipped out of her lips as she tried to reach the book when suddenly a hand reached right above hers and she froze. The body was close to hers, she could feel the heat coming off the person and if she moved in the slightest she was certain that they would be pressed against her. It happened all within a matter of seconds and just as quickly as the heat from the other body was there, it was gone, the book was coming down and suddenly it was right in front of her waiting to be taken.

Hermione slowly took the book with both hands and looked down at it, face blushing with embarrassment; an innocent gesture turned wrong and perverted in her mind. She looked from the book to the face of the person who had just helped her ready to give out a thank you, when her eyes narrowed, and she was not unlike a cat that turns towards a dog becoming defensive readying itself to hiss and strike.

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A/N: I apologize, I feel terrible, first off saying I would post this past weekend, and what happens I didn't. First relatives from out of town decide to show up, so there went Saturday. Sunday was an impromptu trip to the Bay, which makes me love living in California. All along the bay you could see whales spouting water and see their fins lift into the air. The way the water and the sky touched in a perfect line, it looked endless. It was beautiful to say the least.

I can't remember what I did yesterday, but in any case I will make it up by posting this chapter and the next. After I review the next chapter I will post it up.

Going off the chapter, I do have a collection book of Jane Austen's work, and I hate reading it I always have to read the books in order, so I did go and purchase a few books by themselves ^.^

Any who, I hope you enjoy this chapter and I will get on posting the other one right now.


	5. Chapter 5

Draco was surprised on seeing such a familiar face as well. He had stepped into the shop not ten minutes after Hermione had, though he did not know that. He entered to see the lady at the register greeting him with a smile and welcoming him. He would never admit it to anyone that he had awkwardly smiled back, being a Malfoy, he never does awkward, but to see a muggle so willing to greet him really threw his character off balance.

He had spent a few minutes taking a look about the store realizing it was much bigger than he had envisioned it. There was even another floor with more books. He had decided to stay on the bottom floor and explore. He saw a few sections that seemed odd; Engineering and Chemistry were fine examples. He made the mistake of opening a book on statistics and the pages he glanced through made his head spin. He slowly made his way to the back of the store where he heard someone let out a sigh; he turned to the corner at the far end and saw the back of a lady who was trying to reach a book on the top shelf only for it to be pushed back further.

The person had their hair in a loose pony tail and he could see soft curls coming from it. The lady then reached up again but this time on their tips of her toes and Draco couldn't help but smile at the noise she made. He quickly made his way over to offer assistance. The shelves really were not intended to have two people in the same spot and it was a bit cramped but he did his best to keep his distance as he reached over her to retrieve the book she had been trying to get.

Who knew, she seemed attractive from the angle he saw her at; perhaps he would ask her to accompany him for tea. Once he retrieved the book he stepped aside and quickly gave his best smile which oozed charm only to have it wiped off when he saw wide brown eyes narrow as he stared into the blushing face of a woman he tormented in school. This was the second time he had been derailed in this store within a short period of time. Just as quickly however Malfoy composed himself.

"Come now Granger, that look is very unbecoming on you." He said in a lazy drawl.

"What are you doing here Malfoy?" Hermione said in a harsh whisper.

"What am I doing, in a bookshop? Really Granger, need you ask? And they called you the Brightest Witch of our age." He noticed Hermione's eyes shift back and forth looking to see if anyone else was near. "Really now, you would think that I would talk this way if I knew muggles were around." He said to cover the fact that he had completely forgotten he was in muggle London.

Hermione let out a breath through her nose, cheeks flushing. Draco raised an eyebrow and looked away, he had been right she was attractive, much had changed in the years since he had last seen her, in fact he hadn't even really thought of her since the final days of the war. He had pushed thoughts of the Golden Trio into the back of his mind. He tried not to think of them, bad memories and something similar to guilt always followed.

"What's the point in having a wand if you don't intend to use it Granger, or did you forget you could use magic to bring a book off a shelf?" He could see the anger flash in her eyes, yet he never could seem to get himself to stop insulting someone after he started. "Now do you always make such charming noises while you look at books?" He saw her hand twitch she was a short fuse away from pulling her wand and blasting him. Perhaps she would hit him as she had done during school, he really needed to stop, he was never one to make good impressions. "You're welcome by the way." He said as he turned away and walked towards the side of the store he had not yet explored.

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A/N: Tada! I said I would post it and I did. Yay me.

Not much to say about this part. The entire bookstore scene was going to be long, but I will wait to post the next half next time.

Happy readings!


	6. Chapter 6

To say she was surprised was a gross understatement, yet he was just as infuriating as he had been in school. Of course she could have used her wand, but it would have been a last resort including in muggle London. Someone could have just walked by and she wouldn't have known, just as he had proved not a few moments ago. 'Stupid Malfoy' she thought, yet at the same time she felt like a complete git, she noticed right as she looked at him that he was going to attempt to be kind, and she saw how quick his face changed when she glared at him. He was defending himself just as she was readying herself to attack. Hermione was quite certain that Draco Malfoy had no idea who she was prior to helping her. Thus concluding that Malfoy was making an effort to help a muggle, and here she was mucking up his attempt of genuine sincerity.

"Bugger." She whispered to herself and followed in the direction Malfoy just went. There he was hands in his pockets standing as proud as ever. He glanced at her indifferently before turning his attention back to the shelves of books. Hermione cautiously took a few steps closer to him, though he tried to ignore her, his eyes could not comprehend what books were in front of him, and all he could focus on was the fact that he could see her looking at him. Draco let out a sigh as though he was annoyed.

"Here I thought you would have been more civil." He said as he faced her again. Hermione was just about ready to lose her temper when she stopped herself.

"I wanted to thank you Malfoy, for helping me retrieve this book." The words sounded much gentler than she had intended them to, she had sounded timid which was quite the opposite of how she truly felt on the inside. Draco couldn't keep the surprise off his face, it seemed as though she was being honestly thankful to him. He cleared his throat and turned back to the books in front of him. "Now if I may ask again, what brings you here this evening Malfoy?" She said as she leaned against the books next to the ones he was glancing over.

"Just browsing." He said trying his best not to look at her. She let out a soft laugh which drew his attention, and he scowled at her.

"In a muggle bookshop?" She asked.

"Of course." He replied.

"This is your first time in a muggle bookshop isn't it?" She asked pushing herself off the shelves of books.

"Of course not Granger, what makes you think that?" He asked offended that she would assume something like that, even if she was correct.

"Because Romance Novels is not something I would envision you being interested in." She said causing Draco to look, actually look, at the section of books he was standing in front of. There at the top of the shelves was a sign that read Romance Novels; a few books were facing him with pictures of half clothed men, and woman in gowns that were just about ready to fall off. He stopped himself from jumping back; he would not make an idiot of himself in front of her. He could hear Hermione stifling a laugh and felt his face start to color. No use in denying it now.

"What makes you so certain Granger? I happen to enjoy this type of read all the time." Hermione couldn't help but laugh she covered her mouth with her hand as to not cause too much of a disturbance, and Draco couldn't help but laugh along with her. Hermione swatted at his arm as she tried to catch her breath. Draco gave a curious look at the suddenness of her physically touching him but said nothing.

"Alright Malfoy allow me to humor you, as gratitude for helping me retrieve my book," she said showing him the book she still had in her hands, "I will show you a particular section you may be interested in." With that she walked towards the stairs and Draco cautiously followed. Once they reached the top Hermione disappeared behind the second shelf and hesitantly he followed. When he turned the corner she was already reaching her hand out and grabbed hold of a book in front of her.

"Up here they have a variety of fiction novels, including science fiction, which you wouldn't have a clue about," she said noticing the confused look on his face, so she continued on, "this particular section here is Adventure and next to it is Fantasy, I have a feeling you may be interested in this. Now, this book is very similar to the Wizarding World, so it should be a good book to start with. You can see a muggle's perspective on magic." She said handing him a book he looked at her before looking down at it.

"The Hobbit," He read, "what the _bloody hell_ is a hobbit?" Hermione let out a laugh.

"Just take it Malfoy."

"I can't take this," he started, "I would have to purchase it first Granger. How dare you condone stealing, I would have expected better from you." He said as he examined the book. "Besides," he continued, "I wouldn't be able to get this." He surprised himself with his honesty.

"Oh and why not?"

"I wasn't expecting on purchasing anything Granger, if I had I would've exchanged currency." He said placing the book back on the shelf. He continued to look down the shelf picking up a few random books and glancing at them. Hermione found herself watching him even as he turned the corner to explore other shelves. She readied herself to leave but not before her eyes settled on the book that she had offered to him.

* * *

A/N: Malfoy was surprisingly easy for me to write. Perhaps it's the interactions between Hermione and him that come easy to me, but later on it got a little harder. I envision Draco being very, pick and choose, with what he talks about, in layman's terms he is a very private person, at least with his emotions, and personal life but we will get into later in later chapters.

I was going to post more in this chapter however I decided to mostly split up Hermione's point of view and Draco's but no worries I am posting the next chapter in a few minutes ^.^

Happy readings!


	7. Chapter 7

Draco didn't bother to continue to talk to Hermione; he had humiliated himself enough in her presence. When he had walked back to the section of books she had already gone. It was not a huge loss for him; he could do without seeing Granger. He looked around a while longer before deciding to call an end to his day. As he headed towards the front of the store a voice stopped him.

"Mr. Malfoy?" He turned to the woman at the register she held up a bag towards him. "Mr. Malfoy you are forgetting this." Confused he walked towards the register.

"I'm sorry, I did not purchase anything." He said.

"No you didn't." The lady responded. "But Hermione did," she continued with a big smile. "She said that you were an old school mate and that she hadn't seen you on your birthday, I hope it isn't a terribly late gift." She said looking at Draco. It took a second for him to realize that she was waiting for him to respond.

"She is a few months late about it, but we haven't seen one another in quite a long time." He responded as he took the bag from her outstretched hand.

"Oh well, she told me she was in a rush but asked if I could give this to you before you left. Isn't she just the sweetest?" She said smiling. Draco peeked into the bag and he pulled out a copy of book and looked it over. The cover of The Hobbit was looking back at him.

"She is a character." Draco responded. The lady seemed to ignore him.

"She comes about the same time every week, I never knew she was supposed to meet a friend here, usually she comes alone. I'm glad she invited you to join her. It's nice to finally see her with a gentleman." Draco could hardly keep the confusion off his face, why would she leave this for him? He had finally looked up at the woman, the '_knowing'_ look she gave him made him realize what she was implying.

"I best be on my way." He said as he thanked her and quickly went out the door, his face warm with a blush. The street lamps were on and the sky had darkened, he opened the book and found nothing, there was nothing in the bag. Knowing Granger, Merlin forbid she defile a book by jotting down a chaste note. At least she could have left a note in the bag, 'Here's a gift.' Or 'Pleasure seeing you again, thanks for all the help!' Even something like 'Malfoy, I hate you', would have sufficed.

No there was no sign that Granger had even left the book for him. He would have been almost certain someone else left it for him had the woman not mentioned Granger's name. He was unsure what to make of the gift, and unsure how to reply to it. He went to the closest alley and with a soft pop apparated back to the mansion, the book tightly in his hand.

* * *

A/N: I originally put street lights, but with Draco not understanding muggle technology I changed it to lamps. I know the chapter's seem so short and they are, but I have so far posted only about 11ish pages out of 60 so there is more to come. I plan on posting more soon, and I want you to know that there are a few chapters that will be longer. Like next chapter will be double of this so till then...

Happy readings!


	8. Chapter 8

A few weeks had passed. Hermione had nearly forgotten about the last time she was at the book shop. Ron and Harry had stopped by a few times to visit her office that week alone. She had to force them out of her office on more than one occasion when she realized they were using her as an excuse to procrastinate on going to their office and filling out paper work, to be fair it was mostly Ron. Harry would stay for a bit to chat and then force himself to leave.

"But it's just, hard." Ron let out as a lame excuse.

"Well maybe if you had spent more time doing your own homework, and writing your own essays at Hogwarts, then paperwork wouldn't seem so tedious Ronald." Hermione bit out as she continued doing paperwork of her own. She knew he was contemplating something; he was quiet for a second too long.

"Maybe, if you helped me with it…" He stared off innocently. Hermione slammed her quill down causing ink blots to ruin the parchment she was working on.

"Don't you dare Ronald!" She snapped. "I will not do your work for you, if you had started it instead of coming here to bother me you would have been nearly done with it. Now out," She said pointing to the door, "go on. Get out of my office before I force you out." She said turning back to her ruined paper.

"Gee Hermione alright, no need to get your wand in a knot." Hermione was just about ready to start screaming at him, but when she turned the door to her office was already closing. She rested her elbows on her desk and placed her head in the palms of her hands. After about forty minutes someone knocked on her office door, she was about to respond with some not so nice choice words when the door opened, and a messy haired, glasses wearing scarred head peeked in.

"I'm not disturbing you, am I Hermione?" Harry asked hesitantly and she let out a calming breath.

"No, come on in Harry." She said as she went back to writing the second version of her document she had earlier ruined.

"Ron said you seemed upset." Harry said stepping into her office.

"Did he now? Did he tell you why I was upset?" She asked facing him.

"No, when I asked he muttered something and went back to doing paperwork." At this Hermione gently placed her quill down and turned completely towards Harry.

"He came into my office, bothered me, and wanted me to do his work for him. Err!" Hermione growled out, "He is so infuriating sometimes Harry, I swear!" She said running her hands through her tangled hair and tugging at it. "I don't know how you can stand sharing an office with him, let alone working in the same building as him." Harry took a step back Hermione was not one to be trifled with, especially when she was upset.

"You know how he is sometimes." Harry said before moving to mess with one of her trinkets that she kept on her desk. "I really think he misses you Hermione." She looked down at her feet not expecting to hear that at all.

"Has he told you that?" She asked picking up her quill and turning back to her work.

"No, but I know Ron, we really haven't seen much of you. Ginny told me she practically had to beg for you to go to lunch with her the other day." Harry said taking a step closer to her. Hermione glanced up at him.

"Its work Harry, it's stressful."

"I know. I know it is Hermione." He said looking at her with those wide eyes. This man wore his heart on his sleeve and any emotion he felt he wore loudly with his expressions. She could tell he was worried about her by the look was giving her. "I'm not saying it isn't. Now what Ron did was completely out of line. But most of what Ron does is out of line. I just want you, to go a little easy on him."

"Did you come here to lecture me Harry?" Hermione asked with a hint of annoyance in her voice.

"No I didn't. I just wanted to tell you that I think he finds more reasons to come to your office just to see you." Hermione was staring down at her parchment not able to concentrate on her work, instead she was listening to Harry speak. "He can finish his work in a timely fashion Hermione. In fact you would be proud of him. He talks about you a lot, it's border lining sickening." Harry laughed. "I guess, I was just wondering, where the two of you stood is all." Hermione looked at Harry his eyebrows were raised, and the true reason for his visit was finally out. She leaned back in her chair. No use in finishing this paper, she was ahead in her work anyways, she could make due with leaving early.

"I don't know Harry. I love Ron, really I do, and most days I miss him too. It's just," she sighed and rubbed a hand against her forehead, "we aren't like you and Ginny, Harry. We fight, _a lot_. We argue about… _Everything_, which isn't necessarily bad, but it's not always good either. Sometimes he refuses to meet me half way, and I can't always change who I am just for him. We still have growing to do. It's like we are on opposite ends, on two different chapters of the same book. Once we end up in the same place, things will change, I just know it. Till then however, we're sort of stuck, our relationship is still at the same place it was when we started it. Three years Harry, three years and we argue over the same issues, about the same things. Nothing is changing, and I'm frightened Harry. It's as if whatever this is that we have is falling apart and I haven't a clue how to fix it." She finished staring down at her desk, feeling a few tears slipping down her cheeks. She felt a hand rest gently on her.

"It's alright Hermione, I understand." Harry said gently rubbing her shoulder. She placed a hand on top of his; they stayed that way for a while, her silently crying and him silently comforting her.

* * *

A/N: Harry seems to be a very understanding character. I can picture him listening to anyone's problems, and even if he might not have an answer for them, or know the exact thing to say that might help them, the fact that he sat there and listened to them would make them feel immensely better. I think it has to deal with the fact that his life was always in the public's view that he just got tired of talking about himself, and would rather listen to others, even if it's just to avoid talking about himself.

I hope to update quicker next time, between work and not being home on the weekends I have been lacking energy. I almost didn't post today since I was babysitting my almost two month old nephew ^.^ and been back and and forth with my moods, but I got really good news today so I told myself I would update for you all. And here it is yay!

Happy Readings Darlings!


	9. Chapter 9

Hermione dragged her feet a bit, she took a longer route to the shop, and she had debated if she really wanted to go. She had finished Persuasion in a quick amount of time, but work and social obligations kept her from returning sooner. She was left in a very gloomy mood and had wanted to go home, but she knew she would have just depressed herself even more, and a trip to The Weeping Willow always lifted her spirits.

The familiar bookshop seemed to welcome Hermione. The weather was starting to get colder and Hermione found herself gripping her jacket tighter. Upon entering the warm shop she took off her scarf and went to the back section to retrieve another Austen book, Sense and Sensibility was the next one on her list of must reads. She decided against going home right away and walked to one of her favorite spots to sit and read for a while. It took everything to keep her mouth from dropping when she saw that her spot was taken by the last person she would have wanted to run into.

* * *

Draco found himself returning to the shop once a week. He went around the same time as the woman had said Granger mostly visited, but he had yet to see her. He was determined to find out about the book. There was no use having her hold it over his head in the future. Only each time he had gone, he spent his hours alone, she had not returned. He found himself enjoying the shop. It had its charms and a variety of sections that caught his interest. He had purchased a few books and read through them all. He had even found that the shop had a few spots where one could settle themselves and read for a bit. He liked one spot in particular and flipped through a "fantasy" book which talked a great deal about magic, that he was quite certain the writer had to have been a squib. 'No one can just imagine this.' He had thought to himself a few weeks prior. He was quite certain that the writes came from Wizarding families and nothing was going to change his mind about that.

He was flipping through pages of one book skimming through it, mostly, just to make sure it wouldn't be a waste of time to read; when someone came up and stood not a foot away from him. His eye shifted to look at the person who was standing there and just as he saw who it was his eyes went back to scanning the book as though he was never bothered.

"Pleasure to see you here Granger, do you always gawk when you see someone you recognize?" He asked as he had taken notice of her hunched shoulders and blotchy face. It was no secret that she had not had one of the best days.

"You're in my spot Malfoy." She said in a very unconvincing tone. 'Yes' Draco though 'She has not had a good day at all'. He turned his attention from the book and looked directly at her. Her hair was nest, not much of a surprise there. Her eyes were slightly puffy and she looked utterly defeated.

"I didn't know you owned this spot Granger. If I had I would have been sure to have conquered it sooner." Hermione shifted from one foot to the other.

"Oh never mind." She muttered and turned to walk away.

"Granger," Draco called. Hermione stopped and glanced back at him.

"What Malfoy?"

"No need to be rude with me. I just thought we'd have a chat." He said and Hermione let out an audible sigh.

"Forgive me Malfoy." She started sarcastically, "If I am not in the mood to chat." With this she walked away to another part of the store.

"Oh," Draco said quickly following her, "you are quite forgiven Granger."

"I really am not in the mood for this Malfoy." Hermione said turning to him.

"I heard you the first time Granger." He said and she couldn't help but throw her hands up.

"Fine Malfoy, what is it that you want?"

"My, someone really is in a horrid mood this afternoon." Hermione turned to walk away. "Why did you leave me that book Granger?" He said and she turned back towards him.

"Did you not like it?" She asked figuring he would leave her alone if she humored him.

"I enjoyed it, but that doesn't answer my question. Was I some sort of charity case?" His attitude turned from playful mocking to serious.

"No Malfoy it was a gift, you have received a gift before haven't you?"

"Of course I have, but none from you, so why would you start now?" He asked with a look that was starting to frighten her.

"I was in a good mood Malfoy, and I shouldn't have to explain myself to you." She said defiantly. Malfoy seemed pacified and leaned away from her. "You know usually when someone receives a gift they say thank you Malfoy." She saw his nose twitch, she couldn't help but smirk, he was ready to sneer at her, and she could not hold back a smug look.

"You're right, thank you Granger. I quite enjoyed that book. I purchased a few other very interesting books since then." He said not really looking at her, all Hermione could do was nod. They didn't say much of anything to each other after that. Draco had left before Hermione and when he did they looked at each other and gave a slight nod in place of a kind farewell. Once again Hermione put the meeting in the back of her mind. She was almost certain that they would see even less of each other after that.

* * *

A/N: Another post! I like the interactions between these two, I strongly believe that they could have gotten along had it not been for the prejudice that was instilled in Malfoy. Yet, at the same time they both can be very hard headed, and they are very alike that they may have clashed heads anyway. None the less I think the one that would be more forgiving would have to be Hermione, mostly because she is more understanding, where as Draco is one to have always gotten what he wanted, when he wanted, and if he didn't then everyone would have to put up with him. So the insults he sends to Hermione always just end up being ignored. That's how I picture it anyways.

Till next time Happy Readings.


	10. Chapter 10

The next week when Hermione went to The Weeping Willow she saw Draco. He acknowledged her with a glance as a greeting, and a slight nod as a goodbye. However they said nothing to each other. The week after that was similar to the one before. Hermione was surprised to say the least. The first time she saw him in _her_ bookshop she felt violated, but composed herself quickly. The second time she was certain that he was just curious about the book she had left for him, she left the book because she had wanted him to see how clever muggles could be, how they could embrace a form of magic without hostility. The third meeting was rather awkward but she let it go. The fourth meeting she became a bit irritated. By the fifth meeting she was ready to attack him. How dare he intrude on her spot, how dare he intrude into her sanctuary, couldn't he go another time when she was not there. She was about ready to give him a piece of her mind, when he walked passed her.

"Granger." He said as he made his way upstairs.

"Malfoy." She tentatively replied. That day they gave no exchange of partings.

* * *

On their sixth meeting at the bookshop Hermione stopped caring that he was in the same vicinity as her. It was much progress from their school days. Draco walked up to her as she flipped through pages of a book.

"Have I told you, that I am certain the writers of most of the fantasy books up stairs are squibs?" He stated as he leaned back against the shelves one hand in his pocket while the other held another fantasy book. Hermione let out a soft laugh.

"No you haven't. But we haven't really been ones to have frivolous conversations."

"True." He said as he closed the book in front of him. "What are you looking at?" Hermione looked at him with an eyebrow raised.

"A book." She said before looking away from him.

"I gathered that Granger. Which book?" He asked unfazed by her attempt to be cheeky.

"It's called North and South, by Elisabeth Gaskell."

"Sounds boring." He said lifting his book up.

"It's not; the main character is Margaret Hale, who was uprooted from her country home in Hampshire to move to the industrial North because her father, who was a vicar, leaves the church due to the matter of his conscience. At first the new town repulses her, she sees suffering and poverty yet she gains friends with a few of the mills workers. It doesn't help when her father befriends a man named John Thornton, who happens to be a mill-owner. They clash heads a lot." She heard nothing from Draco so she looked up, expecting him to had walked away leaving her to talk to herself. However when she looked up she saw him watching her.

"What happens?" He asked nodding towards the book.

"Interested in it now are you?" She asked him and he gave a shrug of his shoulders. "You might as well read it. No use having me explain it all to you, I'd end up telling you the whole book."

"It sounds boring, I am certain nothing of interest happens." He said fiddling with the book in his hands, trying to bait her.

"Plenty of interesting things happen. There are strikes between the mill workers and the owners, and it is interesting to see both sides of the arguments. Workers want higher wages, and the mill owners defend that if they give higher wages there won't be enough to run the mills. There are arguments, fights, deaths, even romance." Hermione stopped herself, she was beginning to ramble. "It is a very elegant piece of work, who knows, you may find yourself enjoying it." She said before turning back to him.

"Perhaps, another time." He said as he pushed himself away from the shelf, he turned on his heels and walked away.

* * *

Hermione stepped out of the cold to see the smiling face of the woman at the register. Christmas was just around the corner and the bookshop was already looking festive. The same woman who had given Draco the bag on his first visit, the one who he found was named Agatha on his third visit. Agatha handed the man in front of her his bag and he turned to head out the door.

"Granger." Draco had said as he walked passed her to the front door.

"Malfoy." She said as she watched him leave.

"He wasn't here for very long." Agatha said to Hermione.

"He seemed to be in a rush." Hermione started more to herself.

"I believe he had an obligation to attend to." Agatha said causing Hermione to turn towards her. "He purchased a book of flowers," Agatha said, "he was very keen on getting one with a particular flower name. The Narcissus flower, I showed him other books with the Daffodil since it is the same flower, but he specifically wanted a book that stated Narcissus over Daffodil. Is that odd of him?" Agatha asked Hermione.

"Um, no," Hermione stuttered out, "no it isn't. His mother, her name is Narcissa." Hermione finished.

"Oh, well that explains a lot now doesn't it." Agatha smiled and continued back to her work. Hermione just nodded and went to look at another book. She left the book shop shortly after. Assuring herself that she just didn't feel like dawdling about in the store today. Just because Malfoy had left early had nothing to with it, but for the rest of the week an unwavering feeling of disappointment sat in the pit of her stomach. She was certain it was all work related.

* * *

A/N: This was going to be separated in to two parts but I thought, "Nah." So here you have it another chapter.

North and South happens to be one of my favorite books in fact it bumped Pride and Prejudice down a slot... I know right. Anyways that's my little tid bit. I am very grateful to you all for reading and enjoying this story!

Happy Readings, till next time!


	11. Chapter 11

The next week Hermione found herself taking a day off. That feeling had not left her and after a week she could not take it. So she sent an owl, made a few floo calls, and took a day off. She spent her morning cleaning her apartment, she made herself breakfast, and she lied on her couch in her living room. She curled herself into a ball on her side and just stared out her window. After an hour she couldn't take it anymore, and she left her flat.

She went to muggle London and roamed around. She went window shopping and into different stores. She went to parks, and watched children playing and she let her mind wander. She thought of Harry, and the way he pushed his glasses onto the bridge of his nose. She thought of the way he looked at Ginny and the way she smiled back at him. The thought made her smile. Then she thought of Ron, and the freckles on his face, and the way he would watch her when he thought she wasn't looking. She thought about the way it made her stomach flutter.

Then in the midst of her pondering she thought of Malfoy. She thought of his long fingers as they grazed the spines of the books. She thought of how he would glance at her through the corner of his hooded eyes before he fully turned towards her. She thought about how he hadn't really insulted her and she noticed that he rarely smiled. She noticed how hunted, his eyes looked. And thought of the time when she was describing North and South, that moment when she looked up at him and he was watching her. He was just looking at her with no malice, with no disgust, he looked impassive but his eyes were telling a different story. And she noticed how gray his eyes really were, like a storm was raging in them, and then she stopped herself.

Hermione exhaled a breath she didn't know she was holding. She took in a few calming breaths and turned to see her surroundings. Her mouth nearly dropped. Somehow, among her random wandering her feet lead her to a familiar window. It was a little after one in the afternoon, far much earlier than she was used to, but, as if on their own accord, her feet started walking towards the entrance.

The shop was just as welcoming as it was on any other day, she could hear the sound of soft music playing in the back ground. It was something they started doing just a few weeks back. Her bookshop had a different look to it during the day, she was so used to seeing it at night, but it was a pleasant change. She found herself walking to one of the familiar book shelves and pulled a book off. She found herself walking to her favorite spot. Perhaps she shouldn't have been surprised on seeing Malfoy sitting there flipping through the pages of a book. At least this time he wasn't lounging about on the whole thing like he had been the last time she saw him on it. She would not make a big deal about this. 'Besides' she thought to herself 'the bench has enough room for two people to sit on.' So she placed herself next to him opened her book and began to read.

After a few minutes she couldn't help but look at him. He sat in the same position as when she first saw him, book open in his hands, relaxed shoulders, the only difference was he was looking at her. She opened and then closed her mouth. Debating on saying something but deciding against it, his eyes looked over her before glancing back up at her face.

"Did someone decide to skip work?" He asked condescendingly. Hermione's mouth dropped a bit before she shut it and looked back at her book.

"I took a needed day off, if that's what you're asking." She shot back.

"No need to get uppity," he defended, "your clothing is just not Ministry attire is all." She turned to him.

"Are you saying I look bad?" She said putting her book in her lap.

"No, I am saying you are not professionally dressed is all. You are dressed casually, you look… Nice." He finished quickly. Hermione turned to look at him only to see that he was once again facing his book as though he never said anything at all.

"Thank you Malfoy."

They sat silently for a while, glancing through their respective books.

"Don't you ever get hot wearing that?" Hermione asked as she shrugged off her coat and unraveled her scarf. Draco leaned over to her as she made a spot for her coat on the other side of her away from him.

"You know there are charms to keep one comfortable Granger." She flushed a bit partly because what he said was true and she should have known better than to ask, the other part was because he was very much in her personal space. He moved back after he spoke however.

"Of course I know."

"Then you just answered your own question. Well done." He said causing Hermione to glare at him; he could not hide the smirk that played on his lips.

"Can I ask why you're always here when I am?" She said not looking at him.

"Do you mean to ask why _you_ are here when I am? Because you came in and sat next to me." He said turning another page.

"No I mean to say I have been coming here weeks prior to when you showed up."

"Are you trying to kick me out of this store?"

"No, I guess I was just wondering what brings you back." She asked closing her book and resting her head back against the wall. She shut her eyes giving them a little rest.

"I enjoy the books. I suppose you were, accurate on my being interested in certain sections of this shop." He said turning towards her to see how peaceful she looked. A scar caught his attention it was faint and anyone would have easily overlooked it, it was a rather small scar that marred the unnaturally smooth skin on her neck. He turned away; that familiar feeling of something resembling guilt began to stir in the pit of his stomach. He heard a soft voice and he realized she was talking to him. "I'm sorry?" He asked looking at her.

"I said," she turned her head to peek an eye at him, "what made you come into this shop? What made you come here; I mean when you first came in what was it that made you come in through the door." She said unconsciously leaning closer towards him. He cleared his throat before speaking.

"I don't know, what made you come here?"

"Well," she began ignoring the demanding sound in his voice, "I had a bad day at work, and I had gotten into a bad row with… A friend, and after wandering about I found myself in front of The Weeping Willow; it's no surprise that I love books but the name of the shop is what brought me in." Draco chuckled. Hermione looked at him. "Why are you laughing at me?" She demanded causing Draco to laugh a little more. She was ready to push herself off the bench when a hand grabbed her arm. Startled she looked towards him. At this time Draco looked alive, his eyes didn't look hunted like they usually did and that alone caused Hermione to pause.

"I was not laughing at you." He said not yet releasing her arm. She sat on the edge of the bench still ready to push herself off.

"Well then?" She asked. Draco loosened his hold but did not let her go; he did not want her running off before he could explain himself.

"Really it's funny, and I will tell you why just be patient Granger. The day I showed up I was coming from the Ministry, and I found myself walking around Muggle London. I lost myself in, well, I became, overwhelmed, and then I saw the shop. Honestly, I was not going to enter. A Weeping Willow symbolizes grief, Granger, but at that moment it called to me I guess you can say." Hermione smiled at him. Draco scowled.

"Mocking me now are you Granger?" She shook her head no.

"The Willow does not symbolize grief Malfoy. I know why everyone thinks that; drooping branches makes it seem as though the tree is crying. You see the Willow tree is from China. They believed the Willow represents vitality, immortality, growth, and rebirth. I happen to still be growing Malfoy, what about you?" The guilt that was brewing in Draco's stomach suddenly vanished. He looked at her for a while longer and it wasn't till he looked away that he noticed he was still holding onto her arm, he also noticed that she never told him to remove it.

* * *

A/N: Remember last chapter I said I didn't have much to say? I fibbed I had this entire thing about Mrs. Malfoy that I had forgotten that I wanted to talk about. I was in a rush in posting the last chapter that when I read over I remembered that there was more I had wanted to say. Okay i will be quick, I looked up her birthday and wouldn't you know she doesn't have one. It shows the year she was born but not the day, so I figured I would work in my story by making it fall somewhere between mid November to very early December, I just can't remember which.

I think originally I was going to have Draco getting a gift for female friend but then I would have to add more characters and do away with any misunderstandings that I just decided I can make it his moms birthday. Then I says to myself, "Well, how can I show it's his mom without Hermione having to get all up in his business?" Thus dear Ol' Agatha has her part to play and a scene was born.

Note on this chapter is the full version of the little preview that I had posted a while back, there were other scenes that I debated from, but I wanted to give just enough without giving too much away. So when I talked this over with my Husband and sister (thanks guys for suffering through my many re-readings of this story) and said how about this part my Husband said something along the lines of, "They're going to be so mad that you stopped it right there." Which is where I happen to stop this chapter... :)

Anyway I hope you enjoy this installment, and I would like to give a quick thank you both .Nightmare.1090 and kamarooka for the positive reviews, I wanted you to know that they made me happy. And the same goes to all those that are following or adding this story to their favs it makes me feel good that my story is being enjoyed ^.^

Till next time Happy Reading.


	12. Chapter 12

"Don't you have anything better to do?" Hermione asked, as she walked towards her spot a week later, only to see it already occupied.

"Hello to you too, Granger." He replied stoically.

"Sorry." She apologized before sitting next to him. "It's just, that no matter what time I come you are always here."

"I tend to spend the entire day here." He said as he flipped though pages of a book.

"Oh, why is that?"

"I tend to have nothing else to do."

"You don't work?" Hermione asked looking over at him.

"Course not, why should I? I have more Galleons than I know what to do with." Hermione shifted in her seat; of course money never seemed to be an issue with the Malfoy's.

"You could keep yourself busy you know." She said trying not to offend him.

"I have been Granger, why do you think I come to the bookshop so often?"

"I meant you could spend your time doing something productive."

"And reading isn't productive Granger? I thought you were into expanding ones knowledge through books. Or are you not the same Granger from Hogwarts? The one whom spent most of her time in the library, rather than socializing?" He turned to her with a smirk playing on his lips.

"Must you twist my words around?"

"I am hardly twisting anything, I assure you."

"I meant to say that you could do something other than this, you can volunteer you time to something…" Her voice trailed off.

"You mean, work for free? Like gaining happiness for helping others, and receive nothing more than gratitude in return?" He asked her.

"Yes." She said with a small smile.

"Why would I want to work with no pay? Are you off your rocker Granger?" He said turning back to his book.

"You just said you have more money than you know what to do with."

"And why should I waste valuable talents of mine for nothing?" Hermione sighed.

"I do not understand you." She said as she got up and began to walk away, deciding that she had her fill of Malfoy for the week.

"I never asked you to." He called out playfully to her.

* * *

"I didn't know the writer of The Hobbit had other books." Draco said accusingly to Hermione the next week as she was looking through one of the shelves for a different book.

"Oh, did I not tell you Tolkien had other books?" She said never bothering to look at him.

"No you did not." He said as he held out a volume of The Lord of the Rings trilogy.

"Yes, well, he has several works, but there are three that follow The Hobbit, and I hope that isn't the first one you are starting with." She said looking at the book. Draco pulled the book tight to his chest and away from her as though she would snatch it from his hands.

"And why not?" He said eyes wide, mouth puckered out and eye brows knitted. Hermione had to admit that he did look rather adorable, though she wasn't sure how that thought made her feel exactly.

"The Two Towers is the second book out of the three. You will be reading them out of order if you start with that. The one you want to read first is The Fellowship of the Ring. Then that one; and you end it with The Return of the King." With that she turned away from him. Malfoy looked at the book he had in his hands as though it had greatly offended him. How dare the book try and make a mockery of him. With a turn Malfoy walked away from her. She thought nothing of it and pulled books off the shelf to read the descriptions. A little while later he came back.

"You know," he said with laughter in his voice, this caused Hermione to look at him, "while I was rereading The Hobbit I was in the kitchens at the Manor, and, and…" he couldn't contain himself, he began to laugh, doubling over and clutching his side. Hermione looked at him bewildered; she looked at him trying to figure out what made him laugh so much.

"I don't understand." She said and he held up a hand, as if telling her to wait till he composed himself.

"Alright, alright, I was reading it and then I read the description of the elves, and I looked down at one of the house elves…" He couldn't hold it in, he began to laugh again. His face was red and his eyes were shut. "Fair-faced," He gasped "beautiful…" He continued to laugh. "The house elves… Shame… They look awful… Ugly…" He would pause to laugh and breath. Offended for the house elves Hermione stomped away as he leaned himself against the book shelf to keep from falling over.

* * *

A/N: Plenty going on her the first I have a few quotes that where in homage to two separate movies, and a youtube video, sort of.

The first quote is Draco's "You mean work for free? Like gaining happiness from helping others... Why would I work with no pay?" That was inspired by Mirrormask, when the Dark Queen says"You mean... Let her choose her own clothes. Her own food. Make her own mistakes. Love her, but don't try to possess her... Absolutely out of the question."

The second is another of Draco's "And why should I waste valuable talents of mine for nothing?" Was inspired by The Dark Knight when Joker says "If you're good at something, never do it for free."

The last thing was "How dear the book try and make a mockery of him." is inspired by Potterpuppetpals video Draco Puppet where the Harry puppet tells the Draco puppet "How dare you make a fool of me."

Not much else to say about this chapter, it's just silliness between the two.

Happy Readings


	13. Chapter 13

"Hermione, I think we need to talk." Ron said the following week. Hermione was just about ready to leave for the day when the red headed man stepped into her office.

"Ron I would love to, but I was just on my way out." She said wrapping her scarf around her neck.

"It's really important." He said trying to get in front of her.

"Couldn't we talk another night, we can do dinner." She said packing her things into her briefcase.

"Hermione…" Ron started.

"At that restaurant you like so much." She said with a smile on her face. She was having a fantastic week. She had started a series and was looking forward to getting the next installment, when Ron came in. She had completely ignored the fact that he looked rather torn, and was just about ready to close and shrink her briefcase then dash off, when Ron stepped in front of her.

"Hermione," He said with a commanding tone, and she was then forced to really look at him. "This really can't wait." He said. Hermione could feel her bubble starting to deflate.

"Alright Ron," She said moving towards her chair, "we can talk." Ron nodded and she sat down, he took a few steps towards her before he stopped himself.

"I just wanted you to know before word got out." He had begun; confusion was evident on her face. "Just recently I decided to start seeing someone." Hermione's breathing became labored and her eyes stated to tear up.

"Oh, but I thought that we…" Her voice trailed off, she did not trust herself to continue.

"It's been months Hermione, you hardly talk to me, and you made it evident that we were no longer a couple."

"It's only been a few weeks Ronald." Hermione said becoming frustrated. Was she not worth waiting for?

"Wasn't that what this entire separation was about? To explore our feelings and see where we end up."

"You don't see me going out with other men!" She said defensively.

"Maybe you should Hermione." Ron barked out, "I love you," he continued softly, "I always have, even when I was being a right git. But maybe that isn't enough."

"Ron…"

"There is someone, she asked me out for a cup of tea, and then I found myself inviting her to dinner. I know we never really talked about what is going on between us, but I knew I couldn't continue with this unless I told you about it, until I knew where we stood." He said. She looked at him for a moment and realized she had no idea who he was. They had spent less and less time together, and she knew he had every right to do what he wanted, yet here he was silently begging for permission to be let go. She took in a shaky breathe.

"You're right. We have been dancing around, whatever, this is for a while now. Thank you Ronald for coming to me first." He let out a heavy sigh.

"Will we still be…?" His voice trailed off.

"We will always be friends. Perhaps one day… Maybe even…" She couldn't continue and he knew what she meant. They loved each other enough to know that whatever was going on between them was deeper than they even knew, but at this moment they were still trying to fix themselves before they could fix what they had with each other. Ron debating on giving Hermione a kiss on the head, but thought against it; he left her office without another word. When Hermione heard her office door close she allowed herself to cry.

* * *

A/N: I don't really have much to say about this chapter. It was pretty easy for me to write. I will however post the next chapter shortly, a treat to y'all for being so awesome! But mostly because I like the next chapter. Hope you enjoy!

Happy Reading!


	14. Chapter 14

Hermione dragged her feet through the heavy winds to the bookshop. She felt too numb to even place a warming charm onto herself. When she made it to the bookshop she found herself going and grabbing the book she had been so excited to get. She sat down on the spot that she often found herself sharing on most of her visits; all interest in the book was completely gone. She looked down at the book and tried not to cry.

* * *

Draco had found himself detained by his mother, but thought nothing of it. Granger wouldn't care one way or the other if he showed up or not and he certainly could care less if he saw her. That odd twinge in his chest was most likely indigestion he assured himself. When he got to the book shop he readied himself to look for a few books but the first spot he found himself nearing was the comfortable bench that was being occupied by a familiar figure.

"I shouldn't say I'm surprised to see you here Granger." She looked up at him with tears streaming down her face and his heartburn began to double its efforts to affront him. He found himself sitting next to her and her silent tears turned into a gentle sob. He did the first thing that came to mind. He opened his arms and she leaned into him, crying into his chest as he wrapped his arms around her, resting his head on top of hers. "Merlin, Granger." He whispered before slipping his wand from his sleeve and placing a concealment charm around them, and she started to choke down her sob. He quickly held onto her tighter and she grabbed at his shirt, as though holding onto him was keeping her together.

"He met someone." Her voice was muffled as she spoke into his chest; he could feel the heat going through his shirt and warming his skin but ignored it. "I wasn't worth waiting for." She gasped out. "Where did it go wrong?" She sobbed and Draco quietly slid his wand back into his sleeve being sure to keep a tight hold onto her. Finally she calmed herself enough to gently push herself away from him and rub the tears off her face using the sleeve of her cardigan. "How embarrassing, I made a complete twat of myself," she said with a shaky laugh. "I bet the entire store heard me." She finished as she continued to rub her face and attempt to flatten her hair.

"No one heard. I placed a concealment charm around us." Hermione looked at him and quickly looked around.

"What if someone saw you, or heard you?"

"Did you hear me?" She looked at him, and shook her head no. "I happen to be very good with non-verbal spells."

"Oh." She said and she continued to calm herself down. She knew he was staring at her but she did not know how to continue from there.

"I am going to take a guess, and say, you did not have a good day." She let out a scoff.

"No, it's safe to say I had a horrid day. I was having a fantastic week actually until Ron decided to muck it up."

"The Weaselbee has a knack for mucking things up doesn't he?" Hermione glared at Draco but said nothing to him. "He always seemed incapable of being generous with others feelings. He was very moody that one, always angry or happy never had a mood for middle ground."

"An emotional range of a teaspoon." Hermione said with a sad smile. Draco said nothing for a while.

"He broke your heart did he?" Hermione only sniffed. "Well, it will mend." And Hermione knew that she could believe him.

* * *

A/N: Can I say, I love this chapter. I was so excited for you to read it! And now you have!

Other than that there is no little notes, the next chapter will also be short but the one after that is really long and really eventful. The only thing is I had written this story to be closer to Christmas time, and we are only in October. Not that it matters, but it does bother me a little. Anyways...

Happy Readings.


	15. Chapter 15

A few days later Hermione found herself sitting at her kitchen table, a warm mug between her hands and a beautiful red head in front of her. Harry had been sending her owls like crazy, and Ginny had floo called far too many times for Hermione to count. With Christmas less than a week away everyone was working overtime trying to keep Hermione from being heartbroken. Ginny had even promised her that she would not talk to Ron's date at the annual family Christmas Eve party that the Weasley's threw every year since the end of the war.

"Really Ginny don't say that, Ron is being very brave about inviting her over."

"Well none of us are happy about it; even mom gave a face when she found out." Ginny replied. "George said he could pull a prank on Ron if you like, he said it would be no trouble and he would be glad to do it."

"Ginny I am fine, believe me." Hermione practically begged.

"It just doesn't feel right Hermione; I can't believe he did this to you so close to Christmas." Ginny said as she finished off her tea.

"Let us just be glad he didn't decide to tell us all about it at the Christmas party hmm." Hermione said with a smile to Ginny.

"I suppose." The red head replied standing up and walking towards her friend. "I should get going. Harry and I are going to do some last minute shopping."

"Tell Harry I am fine please, although I am getting a bit annoyed with all the owls, even George sent one with a card saying 'I am sorry my brother is a complete git.' It was quite funny actually." Hermione said leading her friend to the fireplace in her apartment.

"You let me know if you need anything." Ginny said firmly grabbing Hermione's hands.

"I just need space, I feel like everyone is suffocating me with their worry." After their goodbyes Ginny left and Hermione looked about her flat unsure of what to do with herself.

* * *

A/N: Can you guess what happens next?

Really short chapter before the next one... My sister drew a picture for this story with her favorite part. Which happens to be in the next chapter, I will post the link in my profile, the quote she used is a little off, but it works well enough. It's more of Draco being a snot but you will read more about that in the next chapter. ^.^

Happy Readings.


	16. Chapter 16

"Did you get all your shopping done?" Draco asked as he scanned through a book.

"Of course I have, or else I would be out shopping instead of in here." Hermione replied book sitting in her lap. She had gone to the shop a few hours after Ginny had left, she had not planned on going; however, the thought of being stuck in a small apartment, with nothing but her own thoughts was not comforting to her at all. And even though she put on a brave face for Harry, Ginny, and the Weasley clan, she really was hurt that Ron invited his new squeeze to the family Christmas party only a week after he officially broke it off with her. The sound of a book closing shut made Hermione jump. She turned to see Malfoy's gray eyes staring at her.

"Come now Granger if you are going to sit here and mope, I suggest you go home. Your negativity is neither wanted nor needed here."

"I'm not moping." She said as she looked away from him and back to her book. "Besides, you seem to be here all hours of each day, have you finished any of your shopping?" She could not see, but Draco smirked, there was the fire he was used to.

"Of course Granger I happened to find all the best gifts from this very shop."

"How original of you; getting _books_ for your friends and family."

"You see Granger, unlike you, a book is not the first thing that comes to everyone's mind when they think of me, and they have little trinkets here." He defended. "Besides I haven't many people to shop for." He completed on a bit of a melancholy tone. Before Hermione could reply Draco continued. "Come on let's look upstairs for more interesting books, adventure and fantasy have all the best kinds anyways, and we don't seem very satisfied with these anyways." He said taking the book from her hands and putting it down on the spot behind him, before getting off the bench and taking her wrist into his hand, pulling her along with him. Hermione could not help but smile, it seemed as though Draco was uncharacteristically making an effort to keep her occupied.

"Upstairs is your favorite part of the store isn't it?" Hermione asked.

"Of course," Draco said as he started to pick up a book and skim through it. "Haven't you noticed that I only get books from this part of the shop? Really now Granger, it's been months."

"I know, I just thought maybe you would have looked at other books, from other parts of the shop. You know, Romance used to be your favorite." Hermione teased.

"Oh, ha ha, Granger, here I am trying to be a decent fellow, and there you are throwing it back in my face." He teased back.

"I am not." Hermione said.

"Here, take this and enjoy it." He said as he placed a book in her hand. Hermione looked down at it and turned it to read the description. She raised an eyebrow before looking back at Draco.

"Did you just hand me a random book?" She asked causing him to turn towards her, look down at the book that he placed in her hands, and look back up to her face, before turning away and continued to search for a book that he would enjoy.

"Of course not, why would you think that?" He asked not looking back at her.

"You mean to tell me that you read this book then?" Draco did not replay. Hermione's eyes narrowed. "You _did_ just grab a random book, didn't you?"

"I haven't the slightest what you are going on about." Draco feigned innocence.

"Oh really, then tell me, what is this book about?" He shifted from one foot to the other before looking back at her.

"It's about a Unicorn. That happens to be, the last one." He finished lamely, turning back to the shelf in front of him. Hermione couldn't help but laugh.

"You little ferret, you got that from the title." She said trying to stay serious.

"Turn into a ferret once and nobody lets you forget it." He mumbled. "It looked like something you might enjoy, isn't that your department at the Ministry anyways? Besides you wouldn't think I would actually read that would you?" Though she was surprised that he remembered her job, Hermione smacked his arm with the book in her hand. "Ow, stop that." He said trying to grab the book from her hands before she had the chance to hit him with it again. Hermione pulled the book away from his reach before placing it back on the shelf. Malfoy kept an eye on her for a moment, just to be sure that she wouldn't attack him again. When he was certain that she was calm, he went back to browsing for a book. Hermione leaned her back against the shelf and watched as he racked his eyes over the shelves before him.

"He's bringing her with him, to the family Christmas Eve party." She said before looking down at her feet.

"Who's doing what now?" He asked turning to her slightly before continuing his search for a good read.

"Ron, he is taking her to the Weasley Christmas Eve party." She said as she wrung her hands together in front of her.

"And this bothers you why?" He asked looking at her as though he couldn't fathom why it was such an issue.

"Because," Hermione stated looking affronted, "He hardly knows her, and he is taking her to one of the biggest events that the Weasley family has."

"I still don't see how this bothers you." He said going back to his books.

"Because he knows I will be there, and it's hurtful." She all but shouted, crossing her arms in front of her.

"It's a Weasley family event _Granger_," he emphasized on her name causing her to gawk at him. "Don't look at me like that, it's a family event, you said so yourself, you have no right to be upset with what he does, or who he introduces, to _his,_ family." He finished.

"I _am_ family, _Malfoy_." She retorted. "I may not be related by blood, but I have every right to be there, and everyone wants me there." She said making herself stand up straight. Draco couldn't help but admire her, even if she was being naïvely optimistic.

"Perhaps, not everyone." He said noticing Hermione's chaste fallen look. He let out a sigh, he felt a twinge, 'DAMN Indigestion!' His mind cursed. "Christmas happens to be one of the biggest days of the year, especially for families, now what perfect way to introduce someone than at a Christmas party, where all your family will gather. Obviously he really likes her, and is seeking approval from his family." Hermione bit on her lip trying to keep it from trembling. "I'm sure he knows you will be there, and is looking for your approval as well."

"Why would he need my approval?" Hermione nearly spat trying to keep her tears at bay. She was looking down at the floor as though the conversation wasn't of interest to her anymore.

"Why wouldn't he need your approval?" He said softly. Hermione looked at him wide eyed; the way the words had fallen from his lips, and how his grey eyes showed no malice. Hermione was unsure how to proceed luckily she did not need to. "You bloody Gryffindors," he said sounding much more like himself, "all loyal to each other. He wants your approval because you are among those that are closest to him. The Brightest Witch of our age, Miss. Know-it-all, the brains behind the Golden Trio, the girl with all the answers, I can go on and on about this you know. Oh, your hair is so big because it is trying to contain your brain."

"Are you getting to your point anytime this century Malfoy?" She huffed. He let out a small laugh.

"He wants you to confirm that he is not making the wrong decision." He said no longer bothering to look for a book.

"What if he is?" She said longingly. Draco wanted to groan.

"He's not." Draco said not once looking away from her, determination set on his features.

"How do you know?" Hermione said angrily, her courage seeming to finally decide to make an appearance. Draco was starting to get tired of this conversation.

"Are you offended?" He asked, the corner of his lip beginning to turn up into a snarl. "Because I don't think you understand my meaning."

"Oh, I understand your meaning perfectly. I'm not good enough for anyone." She said pushing herself away from the shelf to make her escape. Malfoy stood in front of her so quickly Hermione stepped back, only to find that she was now pressing herself against the bookshelf.

"No, I don't think you do. Do you really believe that you are so easily replaceable? Is that how little you think of yourself? For being the Brightest Witch you really are daft. His choice is correct, I meant that Granger, but not in the way you think. His choice isn't correct because he is leaving you for someone better, no. He is doing you a favor because you deserve someone far better than the empty minded Weaselbee. He had you in his grasps for years, and was still stupid enough to under appreciate you, and let you go. So let him make a fool of himself." He finished before taking a few steps back and nonchalantly placing his hands in the fronts of his pockets, and lean himself back as if he hadn't a care in the world. Hermione took a deep breath. Her eyes were filled with unshed tears and she was unsure what to say to Malfoy's shocking confession.

"Tell me," She licked her dry lips before she continued. "If he is as, _undeserving,_ as you think he is, then who would be a better match?" She asked unsure if she was ready for this sudden declaration. Malfoy looked at her before his eyes narrowed.

"How the bloody Hell should I know? But whoever it is he has to better than Weasley, which, if you ask me, wouldn't be very hard. You can confuse that one with dragon dung believe you me. I was just trying to make you feel better." He said moving back towards the shelf to look for another book. Hermione let out a shaky sigh, and had half a mind to leave, but as Malfoy continued his search she couldn't help but smile.

"You're a prat." She said as she followed him to the other side of the shelves.

"Yes, well, you're very welcome." He said to her with a smile. He turned his back to glance at the shelf behind him. Hermione was about to speak again when she picked up on another conversation.

"Bella, Bella where are you?" The sound of a child called. Hermione turned wide eyed trying to find the location of the voice which was a few rows away from them.

"Cissy!" Another voice hissed. "Come here look what I found!" Though they had similar names, Hermione knew that the two were children, and that she really shouldn't overreact about it, however, in her mind she could hear a cackling laugh echoing. She could feel each slice of the knife digging into the skin. Her right hand clutched onto her burning left arm, curious, how a name alone could set off such a reaction.

"Bella, mum says we have to go now."

"Cissy come, look, maybe mum will let us take this."

"I don't know, but we have to leave."

"I know but look at this!" The two continued on giggling at their conversation, but Hermione heard none of it, her eyes were darting back and forth, and she was finding it difficult to breath.

_"__Tell me the truth or, I swear, I shall run you through with this knife!"_ The words echoed her mind; her throat was going raw, her screams going unheard.

"This one looks interesting." Draco said aloud. However, when he received no response he turned to see if she was still there, she did have a habit of walking away from him. When he turned he saw Hermione, head facing the floor, her body shaking, and her breathing labored.

"Granger?" He rushed towards her, allowing the book he was holding to fall the floor. There were tears falling down her face she was clawing at her arm and her eyes were so wide he thought they would fall out her head.

"Bella, Isabella, we have to leave now." Draco heard.

"Oh sissy you're no fun." Another voice responded.

"Isabella, Marcella, it is time to go now." An adult voice called.

"Coming mama."

"Be right there mum." The girls responded at the same time. Draco took a guess as to what had happened.

"Granger," he said placing his hand on her shoulder. She jerked away from him, "I'm not going to hurt you," he whispered in a soothing tone. "Granger, Hermione, you're safe." He tried again, suddenly she pulled in a breath that made it seem as though she were about to scream. Draco knew what was going to happen, and he knew what he had to do. He pulled his wand from his sleeve, wrapped his arms tightly around her body, and before she could begin to try and fight him off, Draco disapperated them with a crack.

"What was that?"

"I don't know, but we should leave Bella."

"It came from over here." Isabella said, turning the corner, her sister following closely behind.

"Well?" Marcella asked.

"It was nothing, only a book that fell off the shelf, come on sissy let's go." The girls walked away to meet their mother, leaving the fallen book on the floor.


	17. Chapter 17

When they made their destination Draco struggled to keep them standing upright. She screamed loud in his ear, that for a second he thought he had splinched her. He was about to loosen his hold on her to give her a once over, just to be sure there were no injuries. But the moment his grip on her loosened she started thrashing against him, trying everything to get him away from her.

"NO!" came out a scream, "Get off of me!" She wailed. He tried to keep his arms around her, and within seconds they were both sprawled out on the ground.

"Granger!" Draco yelled trying to wrestle her into submission.

"It's a copy, just a copy!" She cried. Draco could feel his blood turning cold.

"Hermione…" He whispered, trying to keep her arms down as she tried to scratch at him. She turned her head to the side.

"Please, I didn't take anything." She cried; a familiar cry that played in the background of his nightmares far too often. She struggled to tug her arm away from him, and tried to push him off of her. Draco looked at the arm he was holding, her sleeve had come up in the scrimmage. There he made out the letters 'l-o-o-d' in his aunt's nasty script. The lines were jagged, and marred to the rest of the smooth skin on her arm. He could see that the scar had once been quite deep, and he knew it would never go away. Not even with the help of any kind of salve, or potion she tried. His aunt's love for cursed objects would make sure of that, Hermione might have been able to stop from ever feeling its pain, but unless she had been seen by a proper healer right after receiving the scar, there was little to no chance of ever having the ugly scrawl removed. Even Madam Pomfrey would have a hell of a time trying to fix it. He knew from the look of it that it would forever stain her pretty skin; no wonder she always wore long sleeves.

She was sobbing now, pleading, and struggling underneath him. Draco quickly moved off her, trying to hold her down was having the opposite effect of what he wanted.

"Hermione, she's gone, she can't hurt you." He said softly as he lay on the ground a foot away from her. Her sobbing was loud and though he spoke softly, he spoke loud enough for her to hear him.

"She can't reach you here, she can't reach you anywhere. She's gone Hermione, you're safe." He watched as tears flowed down her cheeks, but her sobbing, and her pleads were subsiding.

"Hermione, can you look at me? Can you face me?" he asked, her eyes were staring up at the sky, and he thought she hadn't heard him since her breathing was coming out in harsh gasps. Slowly her head began to turn towards him. Her eyes were filled with tears and he could see the fear in them.

"I won't hurt you, you're safe, I promise. No one will harm you, s'okay. It's okay." He repeated, he watched as her crying stopped, but her breathing was still unsteady, if she continued on she would give herself another episode.

"Take deep breaths Granger, in and out, I'll do it with you yeah?" Draco said as he sucked in a deep breath, and let it out. He could tell she was struggling. He looked at her arms which were spread out on each side of her. She looked just as she had on the floor of the manor, sprawled out and unmoving, as when Bellatrix had taken a break from torturing her to interrogate the goblin. Cautiously he reached out his arm. Hermione's eyes watched as it moved closer to her hand, her breathing quickened.

"I'm going to take your hand alright? I won't hurt you, look. You can see it moving towards your hand yeah, I'm trying to help you, just… Just trust me please." He pleaded with a whisper. His fingers grazed over hers, and she flinched. Draco pulled back a bit before slowing brushing his fingers back against her hand.

"There, see, no harm, you're doing great yeah, I mean no harm, it's okay, you're safe." Slowly he took her hand and tugged it. Continuing his encouraging words, and then he placed her hand in the middle of his chest. She looked from her hand to his face, and he knew he needed to hurry before her screaming started up again.

"Follow me," he emphasized on his breathing making sure his chest rose and fell. Slowly he moved so that he was completely facing her with both hands cradling her small hand against his chest. Soon her breathing started to steady, and after a few minutes their breathing was matched. In, and out, in, and out, "You're doing fantastic." He said.

"Un." Was the only noise she was able to get out, her eyes drooped a bit. He could tell that she was exhausted. He wasn't sure how long they laid there looking at each other, but after sometime her eyes had dropped down to her arm, there was no scar, her face scrunched in confusion before she realized that the scar was on her other arm. She looked back up at Draco, he had purposely moved to this side of her to be as far from the scar as possible, it made his heartache in such an unfamiliar way. Of course he would never tell Hermione that her scar made him think of things he had been trying to purge from his memory. Slowly Hermione began to let her eyes wonder, she looked at the dirt ground, and around her to see patches of grass and trees, she saw a few flower bushes, but everything seemed untamed. She looked up at the starry sky; she barely noticed how cold it was.

"Where are we?" She rasped, she tried to swallow to help her sore, dry, throat. It only made her throat ache more.

"It's the first place I could think of, you were about to scream bloody murder in the bookstore." He said unconsciously brushing his thumb against the back of her hand which was still on his chest. Hermione nodded.

"Yeah, sorry 'bout that." Her voice continued to rasp. She looked to their hands, but did not pull away. Her eyes looked at his and he could see the flare of her eyes, he did not answer her question and it did not go unnoticed as he had hoped it would.

"Yes, right," he continued, knowing that demanding look she was giving him "We're in Wiltshire." He finished.

"Wiltshire? What's in Wiltshire?" She asked. Draco's lips thinned, and his eyes looked away from her. "Draco?" The sound of his name made his eyes snap back to her. That was the first time she had ever called him by his name, in front of him anyways. He wondered if he should lie, he didn't want her having another panic attack.

"No one ever comes here, save for me. It used to be a garden, but as it is very far from the property, to the point that during the ward modification it was no longer considered part of the main house and became part of the surrounding woods. No one remembers this part but me, and I made it my own safe haven." Hermione looked with concentration before her eyes widened.

"Are we at the Manor?" She hissed struggling to get up.

"Did you just hear anything I said?" Draco asked tugging at her arm pulling her back down, with little effort.

"This isn't a part of the manor anymore it's too far, the wards don't even come close to this. Now don't move least you hurt yourself, Merlin forbid that to happen."

"Then if this is not part of the Manor, how would you know it's here?" Hermione demanded. Draco's eyes softened and he looked away from her instead deciding to turn on his back, eyes up towards the sky.

"You really must be hard of hearing Granger. Now listen, I won't be explaining this again. In fact, I will make it easier for you. Once upon a time, this used to be my grandfather's favorite garden; he would bring me here when I was a young boy. He said he made it for my grandmother, but after she passed, he let everything grow wild. He said it was because, without her, nothing would be beautiful again. He never talked about her to anyone but me, and he only spoke about her when we were in the garden. And he would bring me to visit it as often as he could. He would even let me ride my toy broom here.

After he passed, my parents figured that without my grandfather to walk about with me that they would change the wards, they made the perimeter closer to the manor. This spot is a good thirty or so minute away from the manor, and though my parents didn't know exactly where it was, they knew it was nowhere within the wards, and refused to let me be by myself. I was so angry, sometimes I would sneak off just to come and sit out here for hours at a time. I wouldn't do anything, just find a spot, and place myself there. I would try to stay as long as I could, even if I grew extremely bored, just to upset my parents.

I would always get in trouble; my parents knew that I had purposely left when the elves couldn't locate me. My grandfather had forbid any elf to set foot in this garden. He wanted it to be, in his words, 'untainted from others beneath the love of his life.' So after his passing, unknowing to him, no one would be able to get to me." Draco chuckled. "They would always ask where I went, and demand that I show them, but to me this was my special place, the one that only my grandparents and I knew about.

They tried to follow me a few times, but I always found a way to lose them, and if they sent an elf to follow me, after a certain distance the elves were unable to continue to move forward. You're the only other person I have been here with, with the exception of my grandfather, you know. This place makes me miss him terribly." Hermione watched him speak the entire time not once being able to tear her eyes away. He was staring up at the sky. When she did look away her eyes landed onto their now entwined fingers, she wasn't sure when that happened, must have been when he was talking about his grandfather.

"Draco?"

"Hmm?" He turned to her, his thumb still make a soothing pattern along her skin.

"Thank you." She said softly still looking tired. Draco contemplated replying, saying how she owed him or something to that effect. He did stop her from making a scene at the bookshop. Instead he noticed how her scarred arm draped against her waist so she could be comfortable facing him. If he was honest with himself he would take part of the blame for her episode… If only he had... Instead he nodded before looking back up the sky.

At some point they moved into each other, taking comfort in each other's arms, they kept their eyes straight onto the sky once in a while pointing out a few constellations, but mostly they stayed silent they did not leave until the dark sky turned light gray and the stars were long gone.

When they parted ways, it was with soft goodbyes; and at a safe distance from one another, Hermione slowly walked on the path that they had been lying on, and when she was a few yards away she slowly turned back to Draco, giving a small hesitant wave, which he returned, before turning on the spot with a crack. He looked at the spot that she had apparated from for a moment, before rubbing a hand over his face. He decided to walk back to the manor instead of apparating home. It would give him time to think on what this meant for either of them, but the pain in his chest turned into something that was now knotting in his stomach. Perhaps it was a parasite that was eating its way through his body. He really needed to be checked by a healer.

* * *

A/N: I spent time researching PTSD and how to help someone having an episode, and trying to put them in a way that Draco would handle the situation. I purposely left out an author's note on the last chapter, these two chapters go together and I did not want to interrupt it with an authors note.

Originally the entire panic attack happens inside the bookshop. In fact The Weeping Willow was going to be the entire stage of this story, until the resolution. However I thought it would be better to introduce a new scene and from this spawned a bunch of new scenes that we will visit in the next chapters.

A little fun fact, the name of the two girls are actually those of two family friends I know, I wanted to bring in the name Isabella to be the trigger for Hermione, and since I work with young children, they do, a lot of the time, call their younger sisters 'Sissy" including my nieces, I thought it was a good play on word since the only difference between 'Sissy' and 'Cissy' is a letter, but I didn't want it to be too similar thus the borrowing of names and how they just go so well together, however poor Hermione was already in the mists of her episode that she never heard the actually name, and for the sake of avoiding episodes in the future the names are never mentioned.

I want to give a thank you again to all those that are reviewing, favoring, and following my story. It really makes my day ^.^ Next Chapter is very Christmas-y which I am still very ugh about as we haven't even gotten to Halloween.

In any case, Happy Readings.


	18. Chapter 18

"I hate her." Ginny said as she stood next to Hermione, who was finding her egg nog very fascinating.

"Have you even spoken to her?" Hermione asked as she swished the contents in her glass trying to keep herself from looking up.

"I said hello, but so far I hate her." Ginny replied next to her.

"She seems really nice." Hermione replied now holding her cup up to the light trying to examine it from a different perspective.

"Is there a hair in it?" Another voice joined in causing Hermione to jump. "Did I just scare you?!" the owner of the voice asked offended.

"No, there is no hair, and you just surprised me is all George." Hermione responded.

"Me? Surprising you? Classic." George said. Hermione knew that George was trying his hardest to make the most of the evening for her sake. George had not been the same since the loss of Fred, the holidays especially where never the same, but this year George was making quite the show of the season by going over the top with everything. She figured that the separating of Ron and herself was really bothering George, and she figured he was just trying his best to keep everything as normal as possible.

"So what are the two of you plotting over here all by your lonesome?" George said leaning into the two as though he wanted in on the secret. Hermione could have sworn for a second that he was Fred.

"We are not plotting anything; Ginny here was just telling me how she is making no effort to get to know your brother's new girlfriend." Hermione said turning to Ginny with a scowl.

"I already know her, she is an attention seeker. Can't you hear her annoying laugh? I swear she's doing it on purpose. She sounds like a bloody mandrake."

"Ginny!" Hermione reprimanded. George just laughed.

"No, no," George spoke, "I have to agree with my sister, I don't care much for her either. I think she is doing it for the publicity." Hermione shrugged her shoulders. They weren't the only ones saying that. Even Mrs. Weasley had a word or two to say about it, before Ron and his new girlfriend showed up.

_"__They are moving far too fast for my liking, and everything seems to end up in the paper the next day. I wish he would come back to his senses and realize that he was always meant for you."_

Hermione shook the thought from her head.

"Egg nog getting to you?" George asked.

"I think I am going to step outside for a bit. I'm starting to get a headache." Hermione said as she moved to step out of the house.

"It's the mandrake cry, I think we will all soon be receiving headaches before the night is out." Ginny said glaring at source of the laughter.

* * *

A/N: This was meant to be updated sooner but the computer was being moved about and I had no idea how to get it working again. In any case here is this chapter starting off the Christmas party, even though Christmas is still a few months away. I don't think I will get over the fact that I am posting these while Christmas is still weeks away.

Anyway notes on this chapter, I Liked writing Ginny she seems very much the character that is always willing to speak her mind no matter how painfully true it is. Now George is very much a character I enjoy writing indeed.

A little fun fact my two most favorite Harry Potter Characters of all time happen to be Severus Snape and Fred Weasley, and they both passed on (which the reminder always breaks my heart). I keep thinking if I miss Fred how much does George miss him. So I had to incorporate some of Fred into this story. I have read stories in the past where George is just utterly depressed, and I never picture George being that way, I know he is sad and always remind of his lost brother, and I am sure some days he just doesn't want to do anything besides wallow in his pain. But I think on this occasion he wants to remember Fred in the best possible way by enjoying himself, and now with Hermione and Ron no longer being an "item" he could see that his world might just be breaking apart a bit and is going to do all he can to keep it from completly shattering.

Now I have so much more I want to say but it is Halloween and my nieces and nephew demand my attention.

So happy Halloween if you celebrate it, and regardless of if you do or if you don't,

Happy Readings.


	19. Chapter 19

Hermione wrapped her arms about herself and looked up at the starry sky, for a moment she thought about the last time she saw Malfoy, standing in his garden where it was darker, where she could look into the sky and see the stars better.

"Are you okay?" Hermione turned to look and smiled at the only other person standing outside with her.

"Why wouldn't I be?" She asked before looking back at the sky.

"Because you're out here while everyone else is in there."

"I needed some air."

"Did you need freezing air?"

"You can always go back in at any time, no one's stopping you." She teased. She heard his footsteps get louder and soon arms wrapped around her shoulders pulling her into a sideways hug.

"Why go inside when you can keep me warm? Besides you shouldn't be by yourself on Christmas Eve." Hermione couldn't help but smile even more, as she wrapped an arm around his waist.

"Always thinking of other's aren't you Harry."

"Well, I am a creature of habit." He replied.

"Can you be honest with me about something Harry?" Hermione asked as she leaned her head on his shoulder.

"Of course." Harry replied before resting his cheek on the top of her head.

"Do you like Ron's new girlfriend?" Before he was able to get a word out Hermione continued. "Not because I am against her or anything, it's just I want a completely honest opinion."

"You don't think I would give you an honest opinion?"

"I know you would, that's why I am asking, and it's just. I don't know if everyone here dislikes her so much because of me, or because they just don't like her."

"Well, she seems nice enough." Harry said honestly, "But there is something that doesn't settle with me about her. It's like she is being untruthful. I'm not sure about what, but is she the one for Ron? I can say truthfully that I don't think so." Hermione wasn't sure how she felt about that, but she could honestly say she was very glad to have Harry for a friend. He always could comfort her, in ways no one else could. She frowned, Malfoy came to mind again and she quickly tried to push all thoughts of him away. Instead she kept her eyes out to the sky, when suddenly.

"What in the world?" Hermione asked stepping away from Harry and squinting at the black sky.

"Whose owl is that?" Harry asked.

"I'm not sure." Hermione said honestly. Suddenly the owl swooped down placing a brown parcel in front of her and then took off without a reply.

"It didn't look like any bird I know." Harry said as they both looked down at the package.

"Must have been a post owl." Hermione answered before reaching down and picking up the parcel. She turned it and saw her name written out in a hand she could not quite place. Before Harry could ask the door swung open and Ginny stuck her head out.

"If you two wouldn't mind, I am about to go insane, I don't think I can stand another moment of this bint's laughter, so either you two come in here and keep me distracted or I will hex the living day lights out of this witch." Ginny said and her magic slightly crackled around her as she let the door close behind her.

"That'll be our cue then, come on let's save that girls life from Ginny."

"Our work never ends." Hermione teased. They both walked in completely forgetting about the parcel in Hermione's hand.

* * *

A/N: Another chapter down, I noticed I have quite a few shorter chapters coming up, but there are some good size ones left too. Once again Harry had to make his appearance.

I have been going through all the chapters and I realize Harry is a big part of the story, I never intended for him to be such the voice of reason, but he really seems to take his best friend/brotherly role very seriously.

Once again thank you for the the wonderful support you have given me I really look forward to it, I always try to leave notes on each chapter but sometimes I forget if I had anything interesting to say about them.

Next time, let the family Christmas fun begin ^.^ and as always Happy Readings.


	20. Chapter 20

"Gather round, gather round everyone, it is time for the best part of the evening the gift exchange." George called out trying to get everyone to gather into one room. "I think Victoire should go first seeing as it is her very first Christmas." George continued.

"Don't be zilly George, she von't even remember zis." Fleur spoke as she held the now sleeping seven month old child. Hermione couldn't help but smile as Bill sat next to his wife and kissed her on the top of her head.

"Oh look mistletoe!" A voice screeched making everyone turn their attention to the couple standing under the door.

"Huh, fancy that, don't remember that being there." George said snidely under his breath for only Harry, Hermione, and Ginny to hear.

"Quite certain she charmed that herself, surprising that she knows how to do that." Ginny sneered causing Harry to take the cup out of her hand as she started to squeeze it to the point that Harry was almost certain it would break.

"Vell," Fleur said excitedly, "kizz 'er!" 'Damn romantic Fleur is', Hermione thought to herself. Another laugh escaped the woman's mouth as Ron leaned down and kissed her. Hermione clutched onto the package in her hand.

"What's that you have in your hands Hermione?" Ginny asked, suddenly turning everyone's attention to her. Did Ron's date just glare at her? Hermione decided to ignore it; instead she turned her attention to Ginny.

"Not sure a post owl came and dropped it off when we were outside." Harry answered for her.

"Aww, that means the first gift has been given already." George pouted.

"I hope you don't plan on opening gifts right now George, you know we only open gifts in the morning?" Mrs. Weasley said.

"Yes but we always open one on Christmas Eve." George defended.

"Yes, and I say we open the one of our choosing don't we agree." Ginny said. "Now I say Hermione goes first and opens the parcel in her hand." Suddenly everyone was talking over each other, mostly all of them agreeing with Ginny. Hermione would have been more than happy to open up the new jumper from Mrs. Weasley. In fact that was the only thing she had been looking forward to about this party. Finally everyone settled down.

"Go on dear let's see what this mystery gift is." Mrs. Weasley said. Hermione tried not to feel satisfied as Ron's date shifted like a hen with ruffled feathers.

Hermione untied the string that was around the parcel and turned it over where her name was showing, she grabbed the edge and undid the brown paper that was wrapped around it. When she finished unwrapping she saw it was a book. She lifted it up and examined it and couldn't help the laugh that escaped her lips.

"The Last Unicorn?" Ginny read the title unsure of what to make of it.

"Ze last Unicorn? Zat zounds 'orrid!" Fleur said in outrage.

"It's a muggle book." Harry quickly defended, with Unicorns being magical creatures it only made sense that muggles would think of Unicorns as being nonexistent, or an imaginary creature.

"A muggle book?" Ron's date scoffed causing everyone to look at her with variations of surprise, annoyance, or in Ginny's case disgust. Hermione just laughed and opened the book, behind the front cover was a card "Merry Christmas, should you need me you know where to look." No name was written, but there was no need for one.

"He would." Hermione said more to herself, only Malfoy would think of this as an appropriate gift. That tart, Hermione thought fondly.

"He?!" Ginny exclaimed happily forgetting all about being upset and reading over Hermione's shoulder. Hermione's eyes widened she had not meant to let that slip however this caught the attention of everyone in the room, including a not so happy looking Ron.

"Just a friend." Hermione said looking back down at the book and closing it before anyone else could try and read it. Mrs. Weasley looked a bit upset about it and tried to get everyone to forget by having George pick the next gift.

Ginny would try and get more information out of Hermione and Mrs. Weasley would glare at her. Hermione tried not to look at Mrs. Weasley; it made her feel guilty, being looked at with sad eyes as though she knew it was only a matter of time before Hermione was no longer going to be her daughter in law, and in a lot of ways that made Hermione upset as well. Finally once everyone went around gathering all their presents and opening one, they all started to gather the gifts into their own small piles around the tree.

"It makes it easier to get to in the morning." Ron explained to his date. Who was going to take her gifts home with her.

"Speaking of which Hermione dear," Mrs. Weasley started as Hermione gathered her gifts to take home as well. "I was wondering if you wanted to stay the night, that way you don't have to get up so early just to come back in the morning. Even Percy is staying the night." With this everyone went silent. It was a tradition that Molly started, wanting all the Weasley's under one roof. Many switched rooms, and shared rooms, some slept on the couches all to appease the Weasley matriarch.

"I really don't want to be involved in this." Percy whispered getting nudged from Charlie and a stern look from Mr. Weasley. Suddenly there was a noise and Ron's date was storming out of the room.

"Did I say something wrong?" Mrs. Weasley asked.

"I would love to, really, but I don't think it would be a good idea." Hermione said honestly.

"Why not, you can share Ginny's room. There will be plenty of room for you dear."

"That's not the problem Mrs. Weasley." Hermione started. "I don't think that Ron's date feels comfortable with me staying here."

"What do I care what she thinks, you're as much as a child to me as Ginny is, I don't see why she is getting upset." Suddenly an unpleasant noise came from the kitchen where Ron and his girlfriend were. It was no surprise to anyone that she overheard, and suddenly shouts of, "I knew your family wouldn't like me." Was being said and Ron trying his best to comfort her but failing. "My mother had it in mind for so long that we were going to get married. Hermione is like a daughter to her." Another cry could be heard.

"Best Christmas ever." Ginny smiled.

"I'll come back later." Hermione said standing, ignoring anything coming from Ginny. She placed her pile of presents by the tree to appease Mrs. Weasley, she even placed her book there.

"Where are you going?" Ginny asked. Hermione just wanted to get away and she knew they would follow her if she went to her home so instead she went with the first idea that came to her mind.

"Leave a spot for me tonight I will be back later." Hermione said once again to let Mrs. Weasley know that she was going to be there first thing in the morning. "I have to thank someone for this book." With that Hermione rushed out of the house before anyone could stop her, and apparated the first chance she could.

* * *

A/N: The hardest part had to be writing all of Fleur's dialogue, but it was super fun to imaging it in my head ^.^

I must apologize though, Ron's date ended up being a nameless faceless person, I had thought about adding in another character, but then I figured, they aren't going to be a big part in the story, and do I really want to dig up info on another character, so I thought why not make my own! Thus you get the Mandrake! Well that is all for this time till the next chapter Happy Readings.


	21. Chapter 21

When she reached her destination she wasn't sure what exactly to do with herself. Malfoy was probably at the Manor where it was nice and warm, and she had absolutely no idea how to get him to meet her out in the garden.

"Was the party that bad?" A voice startled her. She turned, and there on the other side of a dry bush was Malfoy sitting on a bench. She looked down at the path and followed it around to where he was.

"You mean to tell me that we could have sat down the last time I was here, but instead we were laid out on the cold ground?"

"Well you weren't exactly in the best of minds to get up and walk about now where you? Besides, this bench is kind of cold too." He said as he patted the empty spot next to him for her to sit.

"How did you know I would come?" She asked not yet sitting down.

"I didn't." He replied honestly, once again patting the spot next to him. She went to sit down but not before noticing how tired he looked .

"Are you okay?" She asked causing him to face her.

"Yeah, of course I am." He said in a way that she wasn't sure she could believe. "Just, haven't slept well the last couple of days." He said with a wave of his hand as if he was dismissing it.

"Is everything alright?"

"Everything is fine, it's nothing really, it's just insomnia is all, it happens sometimes." He finished causing Hermione to nod. He wouldn't tell her how all he saw when he closed his eyes at night was lines of deep dark red. He couldn't stop his eyes from drifting down to look at the covered arm where he knew the scar was.

"I got your gift." She finished, not noticing that his eyes were looking at her arm.

"Course you did, how else would you know to come here?"

"So were you waiting for me?" She teased. Draco rolled his eyes.

"You better watch that ego of yours; it will make your hair bigger." He joked. "I thought maybe you would come, but I have been coming out here for the past few nights hoping that it would help me to sleep."

"Has it helped?" He shrugged his shoulders.

"Have you taken a potion?"

"Too much and it causes addiction, I would rather not." Hermione could tell that he was not his usually snarky self.

"Want to know how the party went?" Draco sat up a bit and she went into detail with everything that happened, starting from Ginny's "I'm not pissed enough to deal with the chit yet." upon Ron's first entering the house with his date.

"That She-Weasel isn't half bad." Draco commented. Hermione pretended she didn't hear. When she got to the part about the owl dropping off the package he couldn't help but interrupt. "And the She-weasel doesn't get all jealous to see her boyfriend wrapped around you?" Hermione was a little annoyed mostly with Draco's nickname for her best friend.

"Of course not, Harry is very much like a brother to me, he never had siblings, I never had siblings, so we became each other's family."

"I never had siblings, and you don't see me hugging anyone." Draco said matter-of-factly.

"That's just because you've no one to hug." Hermione said causing Draco to pout. She continued with her retelling of the evening, he said no more until the argument.

"He really told her that? What a complete idiot. He always says the wrong things that one doesn't he?" He said with a laugh. Hermione was not happy that he was talking badly about her friends, but she couldn't help but think that he had a point. Ron shouldn't have brought up his past relationship, especially with her in the other room, and he was talking about her as though what they had was not something he was proud of. Ron was a complete git. Hermione couldn't help but let a few tears escape as well as a sniff.

"Why are you upset?" Draco asked.

"Because Ron is a git." Hermione wailed.

"You know this already, I know this. We all know this." Draco said as if she really shouldn't be surprised.

"But the way he told her, it was like he never wanted to be with me, but he did it to make his mother happy. He sounded like we never made plans to get married, like what we had never mattered." She continued to sob.

"Haven't we gone through this before? You cry because Weaselbee mucked something up and hurt your feelings. Need I repeat that he doesn't deserve you and you can do better than that idiot?" Regardless she soon had her head against his chest as she cried, and he had his arms wrapped around her gently stroking her hair, though he would defend that he was just trying to keep it from eating him up.

"I'm sorry I am always a mess around you aren't I?" Hermione said after she finally calmed herself down.

"As long as I am not the reason for your being upset, I am fine with it." They sat in silence for a while.

"Oh, before I forget." Hermione said reaching into her pocket. She pulled out a very small package and then unshrunk it. She handed it to him. Draco looked at it for a second before looking at her.

"Is that my gift?"

"Yes, now take it." She said thrusting it at him. He looked slightly offended. "You have received a gift before haven't you?" She smiled.

"Of course I have. Now what is it?" He asked staring at it.

"Really, just open it, it's your gift." He pulled off the bow and ripped the paper off of it.

"It's a box." He said trying to pry the lid off.

"Yes, your gift is a box; you need to open it up." She said impatiently.

"I am." He said in a huff as he was finally able to get the lid off. "Hmm, very original Hermione," Draco said without knowing that her first name was what came out instead of Granger, "a book." He finished as he looked it over.

"I thought it would be best for your mind to read something other than fantasy." She said not mentioning anything about his slip.

"North and South." He read the title.

"Promise me you will give it a try."

"Only as long as you promise that you'll give mine a chance." Hermione scoffed.

"You never even read that book." She said bumping her shoulder into his.

"Sure I have," he lied, "it was so good I cried." Hermione grabbed the book from his hand and smacked him with it.

* * *

A/N: Sorry for such a late update, it has been pretty hectic at work, especially since I am switching schools and this was my "farewell" week.

This chapter has us back to the garden, which is starting to become one of my favorite places to visit.

Anyways another big announcement we have passed 100 Follows so let me just say "YAY!" * wiggle wiggle* - that's my happy dance!

You are the best ever! Thank you so much for enjoying my story I hope you follow me to the end which is about 9 chapters away. Meaning I need to get started on the next installment. Anyways thank you so much you have no idea how great it makes me feel ^.^

So thank you, thank you, thank you. And as always Happy Readings ^.^


	22. Chapter 22

She landed back in the Burrow an hour or so before everyone was supposed to be up. She hadn't meant to fall asleep on Draco, and she was certain he hadn't meant to fall asleep as well; they woke up on the bench when his warming charm had started to wear off. She had been using his lap as a pillow, and Draco had his head slumped forward, which left him with an ache in his neck. He promised her it was alright, that he didn't mind the pain, only because that was the most sleep he had gotten for the past few nights; he went on to rub a hand over his face , saying how he couldn't believe he just told her that. She knew something was bothering him, but decided not to pry.

She made her way into the house glad the door was unlocked, then again, she knew Molly would have left it open for her. She closed the door silently before locking it behind her. She started to make her way across the room towards the stairs, when a figure startled her.

"You just got here?" A loud whisper spoke, nearly causing Hermione to lose her footing.

"Ron!" She hissed. "What are you doing still up?"

"I could ask you the same thing." Ron snapped. Part of Hermione wished that she had just replaced the warming charm and went back to sleep.

"I was out, now if you'll excuse me, I am going to try to get a bit of sleep before everyone else wakes up." She said continuing to make her way to the stairs.

"You were with _him_, weren't you?" Ron accused.

"What are you talking about?" Hermione asked before facing Ron. He lifted the book that had been giving to her the night before.

"What are you doing with that?" She asked, her eyes on the book, before she turned them towards him.

"I read what it said Hermione. 'Should you need me you know where to look.' Who is he?" Ron Putting placing the book down on the coffee table.

"This really is none of your business Ronald." Hermione defended.

"None of my busi..." He started, offended that the going ons in her life had nothing to do with him. "It is every bit of my business, just as it is Harry's, or Ginny's." Hermione felt like a child who was caught sneaking back into the house when she was supposed to be in bed.

"Well it's none of their business either. In any case you shouldn't be worrying about where I go, or where I don't go, or who I see, or who I don't see Ronald; you have a girlfriend remember? You should worry about her." Hermione said turning back towards the stairs.

"I don't need to worry about her, because I know where she is, up in Ginny's room asleep." This stopped Hermione in her tracks; the spot that was supposed to be for her was giving to that woman.

"So she stayed?" Hermione asked.

"Of course she did, why wouldn't she, she is my girlfriend after all." Hermione couldn't stop a few tears from slipping down her face, she really was replaceable to him wasn't she.

"Well that makes sense doesn't it? There's no room for me anymore." Hermione said replacing her sorrow with anger. She turned and started walking toward Ron. "I remember a conversation we once had, where you asked me if we would still be friends, but I can see now that won't be happening." She said as she jabbed a finger into his chest, she turned and stalked over to the Christmas tree.

"Hermione…" Ron started as though he was annoyed with the direction the conversation had turned.

"I had thought, that even with all this, we could be civil with each other; but obviously I was wrong to be so hopeful." She said as she shrunk her gifts before placing them in her pocket.

"Where are you going?" Ron demanded.

"I am going where I am wanted. Why does it matter to you anyway? You don't want me here, I'm only here because your mother insisted I be here. Or did you suddenly forget that as well." Hermione half lied, she wasn't sure if she was really accepted by Malfoy. She felt a bit more like a stray cat, coming and going as she pleased, and him being unable to do anything but feed her whenever she came about; least it eat at his conscience. Did Malfoy even have a conscience?

"Hermione…" Ron said grabbing her wrist, trying to stop her from leaving.

"Let me go. I have every right to go where I please, just as I have every right to be here Ronald, and I don't need you getting overprotective about it, especially when you made it painfully obvious that you want nothing to do with me." Ron opened his mouth to protest, but Hermione continued before he could interrupt her. "If Harry and Ginny where no longer together would you make Harry feel unwelcomed?" She could see the look in his eyes, but that had already happened in the past. Of course Harry broke up with Ginny to protect her, but Ron didn't turn his back on him. "No, you wouldn't, yet here you are, making it seem like you don't want me here, like you are only doing it to keep your mum happy. And you know what hurts the most? It seems that you have forgotten that I'm your friend too, and everything that you try to deny, happened between us. But you forget that we had years before any of that as well." Hermione said storming out of the house knowing that Ron was following behind her. She stopped and faced him, the suddenness of it made him stop in his tracks. "Ronald Weasley, I hope you know that you are a complete git." With that she turned on the spot before he could stop her.

He stood dumbfounded for a moment, before walking back into the house. There at the bottom of the stairs stood the one person he was hoping to avoid. The only person who would have been first to wake up, to be sure that Christmas breakfast was started before the rest of the household awoke.

"Ronald Bilius Weasley! What have you done?" His mother screeched.

* * *

A/N: I have gone over this chapter, I am not sure how many times, and each time there was something new to be corrected. I think it is pretty good now.

So a new chapter up so soon!? What? Yes, I felt bad about making you all wait so long for the last one, so here this is. Back to the Burrow we are, and Ron manages to say all the wrong things, poor guy. I imagine the entire household being awoken thinking a Death Eater is attacking, only to find Molly yelling at her youngest son. I can hear not so choice words, and plenty of drama, so I think it best to leave that scene private and let the family figure that one out.

Once again y'all are great, and Happy Readings.


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